Dominium Trilogy: Book One: Slayer High
by Xandra Z
Summary: Book One of the Dominium Trilogy. Set after Chosen. Giles runs a school for Slayers. Buffy travels the country. Better summary inside.
1. notes

**_Dominium Trilogy- Book 1: Slayer High_**

**_Author Note from Xandra:_** This is the first book of a three book set written (being written) by my friend Ryan (morbidmuchmagic@yahoo.com) and myself. It takes place after Chosen and it's our view of what happens to them next. Giles with the help of Willow, Robin and the remaining members of the Watcher's Council start a new School for Slayers at Kennedy's estate in New York. Buffy is taking her time, going around the country looking for the Slayers who have risen since the "Awakening". I am saying no more to keep you in suspense. There are some old favorites and some new characters, so check out our pages to see the Cast List and Chapter Pictures 

Also we will only release them one whole book at a time, 'cause we like to go back and change things, so it's might be a month before book two comes out. It's won't be as long as this one. Also we have gone over this many times but we still suck at finding every mistake. Anyone interested in Beta-ing the next book (or revising this one) please contact me. (xandra1011@hotmail.com)

So I hope you enjoy.

Rated R for violence, sexual situation, and drinking (we don't even know how that seemed to happen all the time) Whatever it's no worse then the show was. 

_Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. I'm just using them to make me entertained. I wish I own then and dream about it at night but when I wake they still belong to Joss Whedon. The only characters I own are the ones you never heard of and probably will forget about after reading._


	2. Chapter One: Welcome to Slayer High

_Chapter One: Welcome to Slayer High          _****

Rupert Giles walked the halls of the school, his school. The halls were quiet at this time in the morning. All the girls slept late, probably because some classes went well into dawn and others accordingly didn't start until noon. This, however, was Rupert's favorite time of day.  He could walk the halls freely without the chattering of the young girls or the constant interruptions of his thoughts. He smiled and made his way to the library. 

After the destruction of Sunnydale they were left with the mission to find the activated Slayers. The question they would do when they found them. The Watchers' Council was gone. They're children at the Watchers' Academy were too young to take on the responsibilities. There was also not enough room to all the Slayers that wanted to be trained to be admitted there. Besides the school had only remain opened because most of those young Watchers had no real home to go home to, they're parents dying in Bringer attacks and the explosion. 

It had been a joke by Andrew at first. They had all been staying in Kennedy's estate in New York. It was huge and reminded Andrew of the mansion in the X-Men. Xander smiled and turned to him, "Like we could ever bring all the girls here and train them. We don't have the money for that." 

"Besides wouldn't that be ripping off the X-Men way too much?" Buffy had added. 

They all had a laugh, but it stuck. The jokes about turning the estate into a school happened for days until the jokes stopped and planning started to begin. Little by little Giles, Willow and Robin began the process of turning it into a school. Kennedy was happy to donate the house to the cause. She managed to let it slip that the house was left to her not her mother, when her father passed away. She also let them know that her half-sister wouldn't care because she was off at school and her parents were never around anyway. That helped the idea grow and then there was the call from the Marcus Hyde, the headmaster of the Watcher school in Britain about the money left to the Watchers Council, which would more then pay for the new school. 

Even when the idea was pulled into reality, there were still many jokes. When Giles had been named the person in charge Dawn and Willow kept calling him "Dumbledore", while Xander and Andrew insisted on calling him "Professor G". Whatever it was Giles had accepted the position with enthusiasm and quickly chose Robin and Willow to assist him. Three watchers had come to the school to teach and Xander and Andrew were hired to the staff as well. 

They were all set. The mansion was being converted into dorms and classrooms. The girls to be training were being found and Buffy was going onto lead her life as a normal person. But she was the only one not staying. Buffy wanted to travel, see the world and she would get that, tracking down girls, finding herself. Dawn would remain at the school and was assured, Buffy would be back often to see her. 

Before Buffy would leave, however, she insisted on settling the idea of another Council. It was no longer going to be the Watchers' Council, but the Council of Slayers and Watchers (CSW). At first she wanted to abolish the idea of watchers but realized how much all the watcher kids wanted to fulfill they're destiny. She had learned a lot from Giles and now with all the powerful girl out there, who would lead them? Someone would need to teach them to use they're powers for good. With the new formation, the slayers and watchers would be equals, therefore eliminating the problems that she had to fight against. She left the future of the Slayers in Giles capable hands.

Giles reached the library and was not surprised to see Willow at the table asleep over her books. He smiled widely and gently rocked her shoulder to wake her up. It didn't matter because she still woke up with a start. "What time is it?" She asked nervously as he took the seat next to her. 

"Nearly nine. Were you here all night?" 

"Not all of it. Xander and I took some of the girls out last night, and one of them asked a question that I didn't know the answer too." She shrugged. "I thought I was still awake so I went to look it up." She stretched and closed the book.

"I know you get anxious when you're teaching but you don't need to know everything." He said reassuringly.

"I know," she turned to look at him, "but I'm their teacher, they look to me for answers. I may only be their computer and math teacher but I am a Watcher now. I need to know these things."

"Let me guess, Quinn asked about a 'Ronas' demon."

"Yeah, why?" suspiciously. 

"They don't exist."

"That explains why I can't find them then."

            "I think Ms. Haley- Bridget said it to the girls to scare them. She told them they ate slayers. They weren't listening when she was teaching him about the other demons out there."

            "Great. Well I guess if I wanted to scare them, I could tell them that I tried to destroy the world."

"Yes, I guess you could."

"So…" She said as she faded out.

            "So?" urging her to continue.

            "Sometimes I can't believe this happened."

            "What?"

            "That everything just worked itself out. I mean we faced the end and won, -again. We made this school. I mean we are only officially a month into it, but it works. Kennedy and I are still okay. I'm telling you, I was worried for a bit, her being a Slayer and all but it worked out and she more horn-" she paused, remembering who she was talking to and quickly reworded "-with the closeness then I'd thought she's be. Faith and Robin have their thing. You seem to be happy too."

            "But you're still worried."

            "It's Xander. He hasn't been the same for a longtime now."

            "He lost a lot. Anya, his eye. He needs time to get passed it all."

            "I know, but all the talk about how he's the glorified janitor of 'Slayer High', I don't know. He doesn't talk to anyone and has been spending way too much time with Andrew. He won't even pick out a glass eye; he's still wearing that ratty eye patch."

            "It wasn't all that long ago that you were like that." Giles said, causing Willow to smile. "But Xander is surrounded by friends that love and support him. And he's not a glorified janitor, he's the glorified repairman."

            "Your right. As always. But I guess that's why you're Dumbledore."

            He glared. "I'm going to forget you said that and am going to send you off to spend the rest of the morning with your girlfriend. I'll put your books away." Willow smiled and started to get up. 

"Thank you." 

She was almost at the door when Giles spoke up again. "And take the advice from someone who spent three years in the High School library, if you're going to do research at night: use the office with the couch." He started returning her books back to the shelves. "It's much better for your back." Willow shot him another smile as she finally exited. He smiled in return and continued to put her books back on the shelves.

*********

            Now that it was 10 am the girls were now up and about. Andrew tried to keep the kitchen and dinning room in functioning order. "No there is only enough for you to have three French toast pieces each! There's not enough for seconds yet!" He lectured the girls who began to gorge themselves. He had been put in charge of the kitchen since the school started. He was no repairman and no teacher but during the time of 'Camp Summers', managed to become very talented in catering.  It was hard to believe that out of all the girls he had lived with for so many months only four of the potentials had lived.

Usually he would only put out food for a light breakfast but it was a Saturday. On the weekends he always made a big breakfast but he soon realized that the Slayer apatite where hard to satisfy. 

            "Chill out." Rona started in. "All the girls that aren't up yet, lose out."

            "Ladies, can we please try have a meal in an orderly fashion." Ms. Addison Jepson scolded the girls upon entering the kitchen. She was average height, early fifties, had graying hair that never seemed to be out of place and was always smartly dressed. The girls responded to her stern tone over Andrew's whining and took their seats at the table. Now that a path was clear to the buffet table. "Good morning, Andrew." She smiled sweetly to him.

            "Good morning, Addison." He replied the same way. "Today, we are having the "Star Wars" breakfast with 'Jedi' cinnamon French toast," The pieces had little cinnamon outlines of Jedi's wheedling lightsabers. "'Princess Leia' cinnamon buns and Imperial English muffins."

            "How interesting?"

            "Yes," trying to sound smart, "I believe that meals should have a fun quality."

            "Ah."

            After sometime the rest of the girls came by for breakfast. Even after Andrew's protest, they're was still enough food for the rest of the girls and the staff. He learned after the first meal they had, how to prepare a real meal for 33 people. There were 23 slayer students, one resident slayer instructor (Kennedy), one watcher in training (Dawn), and eight staff members including himself. ****

            With all the complaining Andrew did, he liked it here. All he had to do was the grocery shopping, prepare three meals a day, to which he was given assistants, (that changed daily) and his new best friend Xander. His assistants never listen, so he usually went to work alone anyway. But there were still people around when he was finished. At this school he was never alone.

            They all waited in the dinning room even when they were finished. At noon, on the loud chime of the big clock, Giles stands up in the up in the middle of the room and makes his daily announcements. Usually in the big training gym but given that it was a brunch day, he came to the dining hall.

            "Attention, please!" Giles said just after the chime of the clock. The girls settled down and took they're seats and the staff table. Kennedy put her arm around her girlfriend, Andrew and Xander stop they're discussion of which "Trek" Captain was the best and Robin took a clipboard and went to Giles' side.

            "Good morning, everyone." Giles smiled. Willow knew he loved this part. "It's that time again. There aren't too many so bare with me. First of all, good job on all you who went up against that Kelshanker Demon last night. Willow and Xander said you carried yourselves very well. Also Kennedy has told me there is a nest of Farlings in New York and any of you interested in going with her this afternoon, see her after the announcements." Kennedy smiled and raised her hand. "Also, Xander and Andrew will be going to the Star Trek Convention and are willing to take anyone with who with fit in the van-"

            "But there still needs to be room for the model "U.S.S. Enterprise: NC 1701-E"." Andrew added. One of the girls, about 14 years old smiled and 'woho'ed the idea. Her name was Alexis and she was the one who jumped next to Xander and Andrew the couch to watch every Sci-fi marathon or new episode of Enterprise.

            Giles slightly annoyed and continued. "Well, I'm sure Alexis, Xander and Andrew will have a great time." He pauses when everybody laughed and went on again. "Mr. Wood has the names of all of those who need to remain at the school this weekend for tutoring and their classroom assignments. Also please, if you are aware of any trips you will be making home at this time, bring the information to Mr. Montgomery as soon as possible. Well," He turned to Robin, "Is that it?"

            "Just about. I have something to add, if I may." Giles nodded and Robin addressed the room. "I have to remind you that even though this is a school for Slayers, you still need to complete your academic courses to complete your High School education in order to graduate. Please remember those classes are just as important as your training. If you would do that you would be able to take the weekends off." He smiled and knew he had done his job when he heard the girls groan. 

            "Well, I think, that's it. As usual, if you plan to go into town, sign out first." Giles said quickly "You're all dis-"

            Willow stood up quickly and cut him off "There is going to be a 10 p.m. group patrol for team-" she quickly looked at her own clipboard. "'My Big Fat Greek Wedding'- you guys gotta pick a new name- with Ms. Haley." She turns to Giles, "That's it."

            "You're all dismissed." All the girls got up quickly and filed out. "Have a good day." Giles spotted Dawn towards the back of the mob and stopped her on her way out. 

            "I'll catch you later, Mel." She called as she waited with Giles for the room to empty. "So, Giles, what's up?"

            "How about we take a walk?" He said putting his arm around her leading her out into the hall. He had always thought of her as a daughter and enjoyed engaging in the fatherly act. Behind them several of the girls had gone to Robin, finding out their classes. 

            When they reached an empty hall Dawn finally spoke again. "Come on, Giles, talk to me before I start to panic."

            He gave her a quick weak smile. "I wanted to know how you were doing. We haven't talked in a while."

            "We've both been busy. You have the school, I have my Watcher training."

            "I was supposed to give you that, I thought." Saddened.

            "But you have the school and Addison is good enough." Dawn waited in the silence before she spoke. "Buffy called you, didn't she?"

            He laughed lightly, "She said you sounded unhappy."

            "I'm happy. I'm not stealing or sneaking out. Why would I, I mean I have near teacher status and stuff. I would rather be with Buffy, but I'm a minor and need to go to school. Buffy never got a chance before at a real life, she taking it. Plus, I actually am going to become something here. I like being Watcher girl. But considering you're pseudo-dad I would like to spend more time with you."

            "And you know, if you want to talk to me, my door is always open for you."

            "Yeah." She smiled and they continued they're walk until there outside. "So was Buffy in Washington when she called."

            "Yes, she be heading back to California soon." Dawn nodded in disappointment, "Don't worry. She won't wander forever and she's come back to us."

            "I know." Sadly letting her smile fade. They stopped and Giles put a hand on her shoulder.

            "I think, I'm going to take over your training again."

            "Good." They were at the front of the building now and the vans were being loaded. "I'm going into town with Mel and Carrie, I better get going."

            He gave her a hug. "Alright. Have a good time." He let her go. "Come see me when you get back, and don't spend too much money." He called to her as she walked off to the van. 

******

            Giles walked the grounds after Dawn ran off. He took the path going around the small park and then to the front gate. He had missed the days when the children would come to him for help but forgot how tiring it got. He forgot how much he hated the techno noise Buffy used to blast during her training and the unstable nature of teenage girls. He was very grateful when Bridget and Curtis had chosen to come to the school. They had been his friends back in the day and was relieved that after the explosion, they were still alive. 

            Arguing voices brought him out of his haze. He hurried to them, they sounded like his girls. From inside the gate he saw a car on the side of the road not to far from the gate. Actually it was two cars. They were clearly not his girls, most of them were adults. Four of them, all women, were arguing over directions. The other two, a boy and a girl both teenagers, ignored they're elders. Giles opened the gate and went through to see if they needed his help.

            "I'm telling you it's not around here." Said the blond one with short hair. 

            "It's on the directions. I've been here before." Said the tall brunette with her back to him. To Giles' surprise she had an English accent and a familiar one at that. 

            "Excuse me? Can I be of assistance?" Giles finally said.

            The brunette, who seemed to be in charge turned around to the man who was now directly behind her. "Yes, we're looking for- Ripper!" her eyes went wide.

            "Ona." He said breathlessly and his eyes glittered. He pulled her into a tight hug. "I thought you didn't make it."

            "We did." Said one of the other women. He let Ona go and gave the other woman a glance. Raven curly hair and dark eyes, he would know this girl anywhere.

            "Sophia." He also lean into her and gave her a hug.

            "So you didn't forget me."

            He pulled back and gave her a kiss on her forehead. "How could I ever forget you, Sophie?" He let her go into a half hug and turned back to Ona. "What are you guys doing here?"

            "Looking for your school." Ona said, smiling. "We brought two new students and some pre-trained Slayers for you. We'll have some more pre-trained Slayers once I've contacted the rest of the girls."

            "What?" Confused by what she was telling him. 

            "Remember all that Sisterhood of the Slayer, Unchosen potentials? Well, we all got Chosen." She said matter-of-factly. 

            "You mean," he stammered and looked at Sophie, "But you're in your thirties. You're too old."

            "Well we did." Sophia said giving him a squeeze until he whimpered. "We all became Slayers." 

            Ona looked around the public street. "Maybe we should go inside."

            "Right, inside, good idea." He watched them as they got back in they're car and drove off into the grounds. He was still in shock. This was going to be an interesting day.

End Chapter One


	3. Chapter Two:The Sisterhood of the Slayer

_Chapter Two: The Sisterhood of the Unchosen_

            Seventeen years ago all of Ona Avery's dreams were crushed. It was her eighteenth birthday and any chance for her to become the Slayer had been completely abandoned. Her name back then was actually Fiona Avery Travers, only daughter of Quentin Travers who was quickly rising in the ranks of the Watchers Council. Her potential was discovered almost after her birth and remembers no part of her life that wasn't preparing her for becoming the next Slayer. The only contact with anything resembling a normal life came through contact with her brother, Brian. No matter how close they were and how much he was looking out for her could not prevent her from trying to take her life on her nineteenth birthday. Fortunately for her brother, he had found her in enough time to save her life. She was never the same after her year of depression. After she was released from the hospital she refused to go back home with her father. She had no friends, no one to turn to but her brother. He did not disappoint, he instead introduced her to Sophia Karameros. Sophia was the same age and in the same situation as her. They became friends in almost an instant and came to the conclusion they would not let what happened to them happen to any of the other Unchosen. They would not feel the loneliness or abandonment that they had to go through. They would travel the world as demon hunters, tracking down others like them creating the Sisterhood of the Unchosen. 

            As the years went by they managed to carry out their mission adding several more women to add to there vampire and demon hunting team. They traveled around the world until they were attacked by Bringers. The five that were left after the attack, hid. They're already nomadic nature kept them safe, until one day not to long ago everything changed. They woke up one morning and felt connected and soon realized the power they had promised had finally became theirs. Ona brought them back to her home in England to discover what happened to them only to find her Father and brother were dead, and the Council destroyed. Her nephew, Matthew was her only surviving family and he was attending school at the Academy. She let him join their party.

            "…We then went to the Academy. The watchers they're told us about what happened and what had happened to you. What happened to us." Ona gave him a smile, "I wanted to join the new Council and offer my services in helping to find the newly risen Slayers out there." They were sitting in the CSW headquarters in the lounge area of the library. Giles was in his usual chair, Ona was sharing one couch with her nephew and the young girl, while Sophie sat with the two other slayers. All the women looked a little worn from time, old clothes and wild hair. Matthew seemed to be the only one still put together.

            "We already, know, where most of them are, the ones that were trained." Sophia added. "The adult ones, I mean. They're leading normal lives, having children. They were in quiet a shock when…" she couldn't think of the word, "'it' happened."

            "We're calling it the 'Awakening'." Giles told her.

            "Awakening? That's for sure." Lydia Weston, the blond Slayer added. She was 23 and from Wisconsin. She had been with the group for about two years. The other Slayer, Arien, remained quiet. Maybe it was her looks or her quiet nature but she reminded him of Kendra. "I woke up one morning and realized I could rip the knob of the door without even trying."

            "Oh, that's nothing." Said the young girl, Evan. She was a Canadian, seventeen years old, but not a Slayer. Giles was unsure of her role in the group. "There's this ninety year-old grandma up in Toronto, who can lift a car over her head." She laughed.

            "You went to Toronto first?" Giles asked confused.

            "No," she huffed. "Why would we do that, it would be so far out of our way. It's just something I know."

            "Oh." Still unsure.

            Ona then chimed in. "Evan here, is a seer." Ona put her arm around her. "James, my old watcher's son, was training her as a potential before they realized she was actually a Seer. He rather I take care of her instead of letting her get into the hands of the Council." Giles nodded in understanding. 

            "Well I glad you came." Giles finally said. "We could always need your help. We've been having trouble finding all the girls. All the files on possible potentials were at the Headquarters but that's all gone now." Matthew turned away from the group. Giles had forgotten that his father had died in the incident he was referring to. 

"Luckily," Lydia added, "We have the copies going back a hundred years. Ona stole them before creating the Sisterhood. We had some allies at the council and they kept them updated." 

Arien took out a computer disk out of her bag. She spoke with a heavy accent, "Here is a list of all the potentials in this hemisphere." She handed it to Giles. "However, it has not been updated in a year so there are some more slayers out there who have just been born."

"Oh, of course. Um, we've been sending Faith and Buffy out to find other girls but it's going rather slowly. We don't even know how many are out there, to keep looking for them."

            "There are about 600 in all, all over the world." Matthew said grimly. Giles looked at him surprised by the confidence in his response. "There are ten potentials, well now Slayers, born every year." He explained. "If you go back a hundred years there are 1,000 girls-women," he corrected himself after a glare from his aunt. "Subtracting the number that became Slayers and the ones that died over the years including the number that died from Bringer attacks and in Sunnydale there are about 150 girl ages 0-20 in North and South America. Ages 20-100 there are 150 at least half have been trained until they were eighteen. Those numbers include the girls you've already have in the school." He took a pause. "It's been my job to put the numbers together. We marked the slayers on the list that we have already have contact with." He yawned.

            Ona reached behind and over Evan and rubbed her nephews back. "Ripper, we've had a long trip-

            "Oh, of course. You've had a long trip. I'll take you to your rooms." He got up and remembered how to play host. "So you can get settled in."

******

            Willow was just about finished teaching class when Giles appeared in the doorway. He silently told her he needed a word and she nodded and turned back to the class. "Alright, when your done just put your papers on my desk." She grabbed her notebook off the desk and met up with Giles in the hallway. "Is everything alright? Does Buffy need me to do another locater spell?" 

            "No, everything is fine. Actually we have a few very interesting visitors…" he led her off into the hallway and handed her the computer disk. 

*******

            It didn't take long for word on the new arrivals to spread across the school. By dinner time all the young Slayers were waiting to get a look at the older Slayers. The group remained in they're rooms for the rest of the afternoon but they had it on good authority from Andrew, that they would be joining the rest of the school for dinner.

            Andrew and his helpers of the evening; Quinn, Tracey, and Vi; were helping him bring out the trays of food. The girls took that as a cue to take they're seats. At the teachers table the three watchers were engaged in quiet conversation of their own, while Kennedy kept glancing at the door waiting for Willow to arrive. When she had return from the field trip to the city, Willow was already engrossed in entering the new names and information from the Sisterhood into the database. Willow barely said a word to her when she went to see her. 

Xander didn't seem like he would notice if the room fell down around him. He laughed and had fun with Alexis and Andrew at the convention but the minute he came back to the school he returned back to his isolated little bubble. Even in the back of his mind he knew he needed to snap out of it but he was stuck in a forever loop of what might have been. He had been so lost in his own mind that he didn't realize that Giles had come in and addressed the room.

"So you all know we have some visitors. First we have Evanna and Matthew; they are the newest additions to our Watcher Training Program." Evan and Matt moved to the front of their group. The biggest reaction is that there was finally a boy in the school, a rather cute boy. Dawn got up and went to them. 

"Welcome to the program. It's just us three, right now. Come one, sit with me; it's good to finally have some non-slayers around for a change."

Giles introduced the rest and the students began to eat. Lydia and Arien ate with the students while Sophia and Ona were given seats at the staff table. Ona took the seat between Robin and Giles, which was usually reserved for Faith. Ona gave a hard glance to the Watchers across from her. She knew them, and they new her. They may have supported Rupert Giles now, but not to long ago, they supported her Father.

Sophia was going to take the seat on the other side of Giles, but Kennedy made them save it for Willow, who had yet to arrive. Sophia understood and took a seat at the other side of table next to Xander. She gave him a sweet smile as she sat down. He matched the smile for a moment, just to be polite. 

As the meal progressed, the tension at the staff table grew. Sophia was unable to engage Xander in conversation. She continued to ask him questions but he would only nod or just pretend he heard her. Kennedy wouldn't stop staring at the door for Willow. She was ready to leave several times to go look for her, but Giles assured her Willow was doing important work and would be along at any moment. 

"I see you took you're nephew out of the Academy." Addison, the oldest of the three watchers, finally asked. 

"Yes, I did." Ona said coolly.

"I'm surprised, I had been his teacher up until this year and I believed that place was very well suited for him." 

"Then, maybe, not now." Ona said, trying to keep her cool. Giles, who had been monitoring the conversation, could feel the anger rising in Ona. Giles had known Ona long enough to know that she would not anyone undermining her decisions. If the conversation had stopped there everything would have been fine, but Ona was going to let Addison get away with what she started. "What business is it of yours?"

Addison let her fork hit her plate, making a loud ringing noise. "It's my job to be concerned if a minor is under the care of a rather unstable guardian."

Ona sat in her place unmoving. Her face was locked staring at Addison. Giles saw Ona hand under the table gripping and twisting the table cloth. If he had let this continue, it could not end well. Ona couldn't really know the true power of Slayer strength yet. He put his hand on her arm drawing her attention. He needed something quickly. 

It must have been fate that Willow entered the dinning hall at that moment. "Willow!" He called her over to the table. The young witch's entrance managed to distract Ona and Addison from their rivalry. "It's about time you got here." Kennedy put her arms around her giving her a kiss. 

"Maybe I should have got here sooner." Willow said taking her seat, still holding onto Kennedy's hand. 

"I made you a plate." 

"Did you finish inputting the new information?" Giles asked promptly.

"Thank you, sweetie." Willow turned back to Giles, "Yeah, I did. Sorry, I'm late. It just you know, new information I didn't want to put it off." 

"I glad you found it useful, Willow. We'd spent lots of time putting that list together."

"Oh, you're?"

"This is Ona," Giles introduced them. "Sophia is sitting down next to Xander."

"Nice to meet you." Willow started to go on about the amount of located slayers they now have and Addison excused herself. Willow continued to go on about the computer system she had developed. 

In less then five minutes the students started to clear out. All of the students had left, as well as Xander and the Watchers. Dawn, Matt, and Evan took seats at the staff table and Dawn started to ask questions. They were waiting for Willow to finish eating. "So how do you know, Giles?" Dawn finally asked.

"Well he knew Sophie first." Ona said smiled.

"Oh." Dawn said kind of disgusted. Everyone else laughed.

"She didn't mean it that way." Evan told her. "She's his sister." Dawn and Willow were confused.

"Not really his sister" Sophia added. "His father was the Watcher that trained me. I moved in with his family to be trained when I was eight. Ripper's always been like an older brother to me. When I was originally told I could no longer become a Slayer, I became a Watcher and met up with Brian. He introduced me to Ona."

"Brian?" Robin asked.

"My brother," Ona said, at the same time Matt said, "My father." 

It was quiet again and new arrivals had once again begun to tire out. The next afternoon the Senior members of the Council would be convening and Ona and Sophie were asked to attend. The walked down the hallways making for they're rooms "Come on," Sophie said, leading very sleepy Matt down the hallway, "Mr. Travers, it's time to go to bed." Hearing that name, Dawn was caught a bit off guard. She turned to Giles, who knowing her concerns. 

"Yes they are related, but they are nothing alike." He said simply. "I'll be in my office if you need me." Dawn was left to digest the information. She wasn't sure how she was taking it.

Given that it was only eight o'clock Dawn went to the Library to conduct some research of her own. She wanted to maintain her usefulness. When Buffy called in next she wanted to know what to tell her about all ages of women being called and where they were. She looked over all the data Willow had entered. It had all the information the Sisterhood had gathered from about each of the located Slayers. It was incomplete so Dawn popped in the original disk. The list went back a hundred years and she enjoyed reading the blurbs about each one, including the 'called' Slayers. 'Cool', she though, 'Buffy's in this thing. And they even mention me.' Not being the key, but her involvement during her sisters right of passage. She got a little excited. Eventually she found what she was looking for, the entry about 'Fiona Avery Travers".

******

            Sunday went quite the same way as Saturday except there were no classes to attend and the Slayers' dorms were almost vibrating due to the volume of their stereo. Giles, again, was walking the halls. "Do you really think they should be a part of the new Council?" Robin asked.

            "More than any of the watchers I ever met." He said soundly. Robin joined him and the walk to the front door. "The Sisterhood stands for everything this new Council is. Ona and Sophie deserve to be a part of it."

            "Thanks, Ripper." Fiona said from another corridor. She looked more put together then yesterday. He hair was pulled back and her worn clothes were traded in for a crisp pair of blue jeans, and white dress shirt. She still kept the same ragged boots. "Good morning." She said to both of them.

            "How are you doing this morning?" 

            "Good. We got some shopping done. I'm also trying my hardest to avoid Jepson." She smiled.

            "Why does she get to you so much?" Robin asked.

            "It's kind of a long story." She sighed then changed the subject. "So the Council meeting is still at three?" 

            "Yes, in the Library." Giles offered.

            "So it must be strange after all these years, finally being a Slayer." Robin said. "Is it what you expected?"

            "You have no idea. I, before the Awakening, I could usually get four out of five vamps. I worked so hard to be able to do that, now it just comes to me, and the rest. This was something I always wanted, but it's nothing like I thought it would be. I'm getting some wicked dreams though."

            "Anything note worthy."

            "No, just the techno-color history of  the Slayers. That's what all the girls are having. I asked."

            "Yo, Giles, buddy, where are you?" They heard a new voice call, from the front door. Giles and Robin hurried they're pace to the door, Ona kept her pace behind them. 

            The tall newcomer dropped her bag and helmet almost ran to Robin. "Did you miss me?" she gripped his shirt and pulled him in for a kiss, he was more then willing to comply. Giles averted his eyes and took of his glasses for good cleaning. After a few minutes, Giles coughed to get their attention. Faith smiled as she broke off kiss. "Giles, always trying to steal my good time." Robin just back off, he had been through this enough not to get embarrassed.

            "You wanted to tell me something?" Giles simply asked.

            "Oh yeah." She said but stop talking when she saw Fiona. "Who is she?" 

            "You must be Faith." Ona said with confidence.

            "Sorry, you got the wrong name, girl." Cautiously. "The name's Nicole. Nicole Heatherly." She moved back to stand next to Robin, he put his arm across her shoulders. "Faith died back in Sunnydale."

            "It's alright." Giles told Faith. "She an old friend." He turned to Fiona, "This is actually Faith but she changed her name." Fiona nodded in understanding.

"Oh, and she's a slayer too?" Faith said relaxing a little. "She kind of looked like a Cop."

            "I assure you, I am not." Fiona smiled.

            "You had something to report?" Giles asked again.

            "Oh, yeah, sorry, G-man. But I think you already know what I have to say. The last 'girl' you sent me to look for in Maine turned out to be about sixty-two." 

            "You met Claudia?"

            "You know her." Faith left Robin and looked her up and down. "Straight brown hair, tall, stinking old boots, looks like she kicked a lot of ass. You're Ona, right?" Faith smiled. "Claudia told me all about you. " 

            "It's good to meet you." 

Faith turned to Giles. "I rushed back here to tell you about the Sisterhood but I guess I'm just late to the party, as always." 

            "Not terribly. In a half hour, were having a Council Meeting. You're always welcome to join." 

            "Half-hour? Sure. Why not?" She gave Robin a sexy smile. "Wanna help a girl get her bag up to her room?" Faith entwined her arm around Robin's and he picked up her bag from next to the door. 

            "Always time to help a Lady." He joked, as he escorted her off to her room.

*****

            Much to Fiona's dismay Addison was part of the Senior Council. The meetings were much different than in the old days. The much more informal people took seats where available. Addison had taken a seat at the table, while Faith jumped up to sit on the tabletop. Willow was at the computer, leaving Robin and Kennedy on the couches. Sophia sat next to Addison, and Ona decided to just lean on the table next to Faith. Sophie asked about Xander's absence from the session but Willow told them to go on without him. Giles stood in the middle of the room and began the session. 

            The first order of business: working out the number and locations of older Slayers taking on the fieldwork. Fiona and Sophie took over from there. It was their department. Of the women they had contacted they were going to be looking after the younger slayer in their area, if they were too young to go to the school or didn't want to leave their homes. Willow had put the contacts into the computer and made it easy to find the right mentor Slayer for each young Slayer.

"Well that seems to be finished. Now onto another matter-" 

 "I would like to voice my concern for a male student entering this school." Addison spoke. 

"Of course you do." Ona mutter under her breath, only Faith heard her and started to laugh. It had not taken Faith long to figure out that there was animosity between Fiona and Addison. 

"I'm sure that won't be a problem. It's not like it's an all female staff and all. Plus, his Aunt is here, what trouble could Matthew get into?" Giles tried to calm her concern.

"I believe you said he was a excellent young man." Sophie helped.

"You and Miss Travers are staying at the school?" Addison sounded surprised.

"It's Avery and yes. Why should that surprise you?" Fiona asserted.

"What would you do here?"

"Teach." Ona said harshly.

"Teach what?" 

"Well," sarcasm dripped of her like sweat. "Besides being trained to be a Slayer since the beginning of my memory, I was also tutored my whole teenage life up until I got my teaching degree."

"Oh."

"It was one of those things my father insisted on me doing, during my training. How do you think I've been able to give Evanna a proper education on our travels?"

"Oh, but it still doesn't address the issue of your nephew being the only male student."

"Well," Faith popped in, "if you're worried about one of the newbie's getting all frisky and knocked up, at least we'd know who done it."  This brought a laugh to everyone except Addison. Even Giles allowed himself to laugh at her joke. 

"Well, I don't think it will be a problem and I'm in charge so I win. Matthew stays. New topic." Giles said with the amusement still reconcilable in his tone. He fixed his glasses and checking the next bit of information on his clipboard. He took a seat on the arm of his chair and his manner changed. "It has been a great concern for all involved that the some of the Slayers out there might not understand their powers and responsibilities and may become- dangerous." He tried not to look to Faith as he talked.

            Everyone was quiet. No one wanted to say what was on they're mind. "Alright, I'm waiting!" Faith finally said getting up and walking around. "Your taking about a girl like me. We don't want them to do what I did and with more of them out there it's even more dangerous. For all we know we could have a army of rogue Slayers out there, which could lead to worse situations then I put the world in." She stopped and gave the room her trademark smirk. It empowered Faith to take this matter out of they're hands and let herself direct the conversation. "So the question is what do we do about it? How do we control them?" 

            "Are we expecting this to be a big problem?" Asked Sophia.

            "More so then ever." Giles said. "The girls that know nothing of what they have become, they my not get the proper guidance in time, before they get out of control."

            "So we need a way to cut off they're power." Robin reiterated.

            "I don't even know if that's possible."

            "How about the formula?" Addison joined in. "The organic compound of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressers that Old Council used to bind the Slayers for their test, when they became eighteen."

            "I had considered that, but it's only temporary and with the Slayer immune system, if used over a prolonged period of time will become in affective. It would also require keeping the girl locked up."

            "But do we even have the right to do that?" Kennedy spoke. "Take away they're power, mess with the Slayer line?"

            "We already have." Addison. "The line has already been tampered with."

            "So you think we should do it again?" Kennedy said sarcastically. "It could have blown up in our faces last time. What if it does it does this time?"

            "I might be able too do it." Willow said distantly. 

            "What could you do?" Ona asked her.

            "I think I can tap into the Slayer power, again." She broke out of her distant gaze and turn to the group. "I'll have to do some more research first but," She paused and looked into Giles' eyes. "When I called them all I was in a different place. I could see them all; feel them all, even after the spell had ended. I think, if I go in again, I think I can bind them, cut them off if necessary."

            "Do you really think you could do that, Willow?" Giles went to her, putting a hand on her shoulder. 

            "I can't do it right now. It will take some time. I need to know how to navigate the Slayer System, but I don't see why not."

            "I mean the magic. Do you really think you should be medaling with it." Concerned.

            "When I did the spell, it was different. The magic I accessed was pure and white; it kind of gave me a good cleaning from the inside out. I don't see why this will be any different."

            "Okay. Then this is the best plan of action we got, lets go forward with it." Giles agreed with a smile given to him by hearing Willows words. The session ended after that, everyone going on to do his or her own thing.

******

            Giles, Sophia and Fiona spent most of the evening together. They were walking the grounds after they're patrol with team 'Sneetchs with Stars on their Bellies', there was a consensus that all team names were to long and they would be changed during the week. The trio mostly they talked about when they had been doing since the last time they had met. They walked around with Giles sandwiched between the two ladies, clinging to his arms. 

            "I can't believe it had been almost seven years since I've seen the two of you." 

            "We weren't the ones that moved to the Hellmouth, Rupert." Sophia joked

            "I did come back to England a few years ago, you were nowhere to be found." He joked back with them. 

            "Actually we've had spent several of the past years up north in Canada and higher. Especially during the winter most Vamps come up that's why for the longer nights."

            "I had notice that actually, there usually more disappearances in that area."

            "Well we came across a whole town, that were only a few people shy of all being Vamps. We took care of it." Fiona smiled. 

            "Would you to like to have a drink." Giles offered.

            "I'd love one." Fiona said happily. 

            Sophie, however was distracted. She was watching the young man sitting out on the bench watching the stars. "I'm going to pass." She declined sweetly. "Looks like some else really needs the company." She gave Giles a kiss on the cheek goodnight, and went over to sit next to Xander. 

            "Is he alright?" Fiona asked Giles in a whisper, stopping to watching Xander and Sophie for moment.

            "He's lost a lot. He doesn't quite know how to get over it." Ona nodded as he spoke.

            "It's good he's gonna talk to Sophie then." She gave Rupert a smile. "She knows how to help people through the darkest time. She's remarkable." 

            "I know." They continued on. "Would you like to get that drink?"

            "Yes but I think I need to go check on my kids, first." He nodded and they went down the corridor to Evan and Dawn's room.

            No one was quiet sure when it happened but sometime between last night's dinner and lunch this morning, Dawn and Evan became the best of friends. Dawn's room, since this would continue to be her home, was put in the staff wing and the room had not change from its original design. Sometime during the day she asked Evan to share with her. They knew that the school would begin to fill up, new slayers where coming everyday and with most likely coming addition of Fiona and Sophie on the school staff they would eventually have to share anyway. They just got the control to say when. 

            Fiona knocked on the door, that now had a sign that read, 'Watchers' in Training: Soon to be telling your Slayer-butts what to do!'. Giles smiled and they waited for a reply. Over the muffled sounds of music playing Fiona heard a 'Come in," and she cautiously opened the door. 

Dawn and Evan where in their pajamas sitting on their own beds, talking. Each side of the room looked identical with furniture but Dawn's side looked as if it had been lived in and Evan's looked like she just came in from prison.

            "Hey, Ona, something wrong?" Evan asked admittedly. 

            Ona shook her head and sat next to Evan on her bed. "No, just wanted to check on how the two of you were doing." Giles wondered in after her, standing toward the door, giving the room a good look. 

            "Everything's fine. It's nice having lots of Slayers around. They move the furniture, in like two seconds."

            "Yes, we're thinking, if we ever run out of money for the school, we rent the girls out to a moving company." Giles joked. He got mostly smiles.

            "Wow, Giles joked, that was too weird." Dawn said. "But still a good idea. Why didn't Buffy think of that when she needed a job?" 

            "I need stuff." Evan told Fiona with certainty. 

            "Anything you need me to pick you up, tomorrow?" Fiona said preparing to take down a mental list. 

            "No, my stuff in Vancouver." She smiled.

            "He put it into storage for you, right?" Ona asked, taking her cell phone out of her pocket.

            "Yeah, I mean, I am staying here, right?" she said happily. "I have a semi permanent room. I can have my things."

            Ona handed her the phone. "Call James, ask him to send your things." 

            "Really?" excitedly. "But it's late, almost midnight."

            "Time zones, Silly." She gave the young girl a pat on the shoulder. "It's only nine, there. If he's asleep now, he deserves to be woken up. I'm also sure, knowing him, he will send them out tomorrow."

            "Okay." She said taking the phone and leaving the room to make the call. 

            Fiona looked up at Dawn, who was trying her best to be comfortable. It was a little awkward to say the least. Giles however seemed perfectly comfortable looking around the room as if he'd never seen it before. It was normal for a seventeen year-old, there was a stereo, posters of Green Day & Orlando Bloom and was moderately messy. "Is this the first time he's been in here or something?" Fiona asked Dawn.

            "Since I moved in, yeah." Dawn said trying as well to let the tension go. 

            "She never let me in normally, always came to the door and closed it behind her." He smiled and turned to Dawn. "When did you get all this?"

            "Huh, remember when all that money disappeared from the account you set up for me? Well this is it, and the closet full of clothes. Kind came here with one outfit and lost the rest." 

            "Ah, yes, I just don't remember you bringing all this home." He readjusted his glasses.

            "Faith, she took me shopping while the rest of you were filling out forms to make this a school." Dawn got off her bed and self-consciously started to clean up. 

            "Looks like she got you wrapped around her finger, Rupert. Just like Evan does with James."

            Evan came back a moment later, looking almost giddy. James would send out her boxes first thing in the morning. Fiona told them it was time for bed and gave Evan a hug and a kiss on her forehead. "Sleep well, girls." She said as they got into their beds. Giles had already started down the hall to his room, but she waited to turn off the lights for them. 

            "Fiona?" She heard Dawn call to her from the dark.

            "Yeah?"

            "I want you to know, I know you're not like your father." The faint voice said. 

            "Thanks. Matthew's nothing like him either." She said back.

            "I know that too." 

            Fiona closed the door and made her way down to Rupert's room. She stopped into her room first and quickly changed into a pair of sweat paints and sweater. When she got to room, he was waiting for her, with two glasses. She closed the door as she entered. When she sat down next to him on the couch, he poured scotch into the two glasses. She curled herself up on the couch so her chin could rest on her knees. "I miss my brother." Was all she said and Giles gave her a sympathetic look. He handed her a glass.

            "I miss him too." He took a sip of his drink. "When Xander starts feeling like himself again, you might want to talk to him, they're very similar."

            "I assume you mean the sci-fi/ comic book thing. Cause I know a thing or two about Xander they're wouldn't be too much in common between my late repressed British brother, and a good old American boy from California." Getting her sense of humor back she took some of her drink. "Cheers to a repressed childhood." She raised her glass to his and took down the rest of the liquid; he happily took down the rest of his with her.

            "Another?" he asked. She nodded and he filled the glasses again. "At least you got over the repressed British ness." He pauses, "I just said that didn't I." He froze. "I spent way to much time with the children."

            She laughed and went on, "So you lost that whole 'Ripper' stage completely then?"

            "Sometimes he comes out for a visit. But he normally remains deep inside my repressed psyche." He said proudly. "The other, the original children from Sunnydale, they don't even realize how much it all is a part of me anymore. They see the whole stuffy old English father figure set in his ways now and looks back on his bad boys days with total disgust. They don't even do that anymore. I'm the bloody parent, but my children are at the age where they don't even pretend to listen to me anymore or even come to me for help. I was hoping that by this time I wouldn't be the parent, I would be the friend."

            "Well, if it helps, I will never think of you as a father figure but always as a friend."

            "It does, thank you." He continued to drink.

            "At least you aren't actually a parent, well you are to Dawn I guess, but I wasn't even prepared when I adopted Evvie." She sighed and spoke honestly, "I'm flying by seat of my ass with Matty. I don't know how to be a parent. I am a bloody demon hunter-"

            "Slayer, dear, you're a Slayer now." He corrected. 

            "Well, I wasn't then." She paused at thought a moment. It took longer then usually and she realized the drink was having its effect. "I was with Matty, but Evvie was a huge job. Her parents died in car accident, she predicted. You know, four out of five seers, they go insane."

            "What type is she?" He asked.

            "I can't remember the exact name, right now, I'm thinking it's something like 'type two'."

            "'Type two'?" he sighed,  "She could be powerful, when she learns to use it."

            "That's why James turned her over to me instead of the Council. When her parents died, James was holding custody of her. The Council could have done anything they wanted to her. He knew what it did to me and couldn't let the same thing happen to her." 

            "I always liked James." Smiles. "Do you think he'd want to come here?"

            "No, he's done. He didn't want to be a watcher, I don't think he changed his mind." There was another long pause. "I don't feel like a Slayer." She sighed and continued. "It doesn't seem…I don't know, like it should be." She put the glass down and flexed her fingers. "Is there something wrong with me?"

******

            "Xander, do you mind if I sit down?" Sophia asked carefully. It took a moment of thought but Xander eventually nodded. She smiled and took the seat to his right. She looked up at the stars and let silence pass between them. After a few moments of a comfortable silence as turned to him. "Why are you out here by yourself?"

            "Because no one was out here." He said refusing to turn to her.

            "I know that was a subtle hint to get me to leave you alone, but it's not going to work on me." She gave him a smile. Xander turned to her, surprised that she was still sitting there. Her smile made him relax a bit and he considered not alienating her like everybody else. "Why are you always alone?"

            The normal moment of hesitation was there but instead of him considering if to answer her or not it was how to answer her. "I… I'm not much fun anymore." 

            "You were fun before? I can't believe it." She joked.

            "Yes," starting to let his sense of humor show in tone, "there was a time I was known as quite the comic relief. In fact it was my job.  If I couldn't make light of the situation, I had failed in my only job." 

            "I think you must have done more than that." She put a hand on his shoulder. "They made you a Watcher."

            "It's a pity position." He turned to face her fully giving her a view of his eye patch and pointed to it. "They all feel bad about the eye… and the girl." He turned back so the patch was once again obscured by shadows. "Everything people do concerning me is pity."

            "That's not true." She tried to reassure him. "They care about you, I see that."

            "Please, don't." He turned away. "You' don't know me, you met me yesterday." He got up and walked around the bench, but not away from her.

            "You're right, I don't know." She stood up and went to him. "Did I say I did?"

            "No, but I know your just trying to make me feel better." Then went on weakly, "Taking pity on me."

            "Actually I don't take pity." She went on strongly with force and a little bit of anger in her tone. "I was actually going to tell you to snap out of it. That you're a big baby and need to start getting on with your life."

            Xander got angry and stormed around her. "You have no idea what I went through. You don't have any right to say anything to me!" He raised his hands in the air as he spoke. "What would you know about it, you're a Slayer and I'm just the guy that lost everything just because I'm me. I finally found something I was loved and was good at and now I can't even do it." Pause, but that just let his anger build more. "She died! I loved her and now she's gone! I did everything while she was alive to push her away." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes while bearing his face in this hands. When he was ready to look up again, he expected to see Sophia looking very calm and steady in her spot. "Sorry." He muttered sitting back down.

            She returned to the seat by his side and spoke again, "How long has it been," he waited for her to asked about when Anya died but she surprised him, "since you last let yourself get angry like this?" 

            He thought about it. "I can't even remember." 

            "Feel a little better though, don't you?" 

            He thought hard again. He remembered a time when he would speak without thinking but now every question seemed hard. "I do actually." he said to his own surprise. He felt a little lighter, like someone took  bricks off of him. "How did you do that?" He said to he with a small smile.

            "Years of practice. Outbursts like you just had, are healthy. No matter what they say. You just need to let it all out. You just need someone you trust to be there to push your buttons. Fiona does it for me, I do it for her."

            "I thought you were raised by Watchers. I thought they were big on repression."

            "Yes, and that's why Fiona and I kind of went insane. We learn how to do it." She took a deep breath and went on, "I can help you get through this, if you let me. It's not pity, it's sharing the knowledge. I was helped at a bad time in my life and I believe it's my duty to help others."

            Xander didn't think this time he just spoke. "I thought you're duty was to save the world from the vampires and demons." He joked.

            "You forget, up until a couple months ago I was just a woman. A woman who trained for something but it never came and then dedicated my life to helping others like me. It's who I am slayer or no."

            "How do you want to start?" he asked as his way of accepting her offer for help. 

            "Talk to me." She smiled happily. 

            "About what?" Xander asked still dazed.

            "Anything."

            They talked for a while, mostly Xander talked. He skirted around any of the big issues and just started telling her stories about the glory days in Sunnydale. So far he had only got to mentioning that Anya had been his date to the prom and that she had asked him. Around one in the morning they started heading back inside. They were going to part for the night but Xander decided to do the gentlemanly thing and walk her to her door. She had respected him and kept space between them as they walked. He was comfortable now so he started to ask her questions.

            "So, I've heard a rumor and wanted to know if it's true."

            "Ask."

            "Someone said you're Giles' sister. Now my source is Andrew, so this might have gone all 'telephone' somewhere." 

            "No I'm not a Giles." She laughed. "Evvie's just being a pest and spreading rumor." She informed him of the conversation the night before. He seemed pleased to hear it.

            "It's not that I would mind if you were a Giles, it would just be kind of creepy for him to have a sister and never once mention it."

            "I bet you never asked." She joked. Xander gave her the slightest laugh. She looked around the darkened hallway. They were next to Dawn and Evan's room. "My room is over by Faith's where's yours?"

            "Down by Giles. Your on 'lovers' row', I feel sorry."

            "Lovers' Row?"

            "Yeah your next to Faith and Robin and Willow and Kennedy. They go at it like rabbits when they get the chance."

            "I'm not worried. The last apartment we had, had rooms with paper thin walls, and I was next to Lydia. That girl brought back a man every night, and that girl is very loud."

            "Lydia? The blond?" he inquired. She nodded. They were left standing in an uncomfortable silence or Xander was. He had no idea what Sophia was thinking. She was a mystery to him. 

            "Well, you should get a goodnight's sleep." She put a hand on his shoulder, "We'll talk more in the morning. Don't-" she stopped what she said when she heard a noise. "Do you hear that?" was the only thing she was able to say before they heard quiet screaming coming from Dawn and Evan's room.

            Sophie didn't think twice about rushing into the room. Xander did not move as quite as  quickly but was still right behind. Xander stood in the doorway of the room and stopped. Dawn was sitting up right in bed. Sophie had gone to the terror stricken girl in the other bed. "Xander, what's going on?" A sleepy Dawn asked, Xander just shook his head.

            "Evvie, wake up, it's okay sweetie." Sophia held the girl in her arms, "It's alright, I'm here." She continued to stroke her face until she woke up. Dawn was out of bed coming up behind Sophia, she turned on the light by the bed.

Evan started to cry in her arms. "It was, it's dark and empty…Ona, I need her." She cried and Sophia just held her closer. Xander was frozen where was, not sure what to do. "Dawn get Ona." She commanded. Sophia sat down on the bed and pulled the girl onto her lap, still whispering words of calm in her ears. 

Xander just stood there watching them. She was so gentle with Evan but had been strong when he saw her patrolling earlier that night. He only moved when he was struck by Fiona who rushed past him to get to Evan. Even when Giles had come into the room he still remained watching Sophia. 

Fiona help bring the girl to her feet. "Come on, little one." Fiona said to the teenager gathering her up and walking out of the room. 

"Ona were you drinking?" Evan asked quietly, making Giles smirk but Ona kept her concentration.

"That's not important, come on." Fiona left with Evan but Sophie remained.

"What happened? A vision?" asked a concerned Dawn who reentered the room. 

"Sometimes she get visions when she sleeps." Sophia sighed getting up from the bed and went to Dawn. "Don't worry, she'll be fine, she's just going to stay with Fiona tonight. They are very intense." She put her hands on Dawns shoulders and directed her back to her bed. "Don't worry, episodes like this don't happen that often only when something particularly nasty comes into her head. Sleep well, dear." She tucked Dawn in and turned of the lamp. Giles had gone, but Xander still remained. 

"Good night, Dawn." Xander said, as Sophie took his arm she left pulling out of the room. When they were alone in the hall again Xander turned to her. "Your like a fairy godmother."

"Why do you say that?" Shocked.

"You just are good at this, taking care of people." He continued the walk he to her room.

"Well your lucky I haven't gotten to sleep yet. First thing when I wake up, I'm not good for anything." She laughed at him. 

"And not a morning person. Well I'll be sure not to bother you to early in the morning."

"Well I'd better be going to bed," She turned and went to her door, "Remember what I said, get some sleep."

Xander smiled at her as she walked on. He liked her and as he turn to go off to his room, he felt freer then he had been in months, mutter one of those famous lines from a movie, "This could be a start of a beautiful friendship."

End chapter 2.


	4. Chapter Three: Lost Angels

Chapter Three: Lost Angel 

            A young girl walks down the sidewalk.  The night air was cool and crisp; she could feel it even under the colorful puffy hat and jean jacket.  Her boots made clicking sound on the pavement as she started to pick up her pace.  She wanted to get home as quickly as possible.  A gust of cold wind blew; her hat flew off, letting her bright red hair down.  She looked behind her cautiously and bent down to pick up her hat.  Suddenly she heard a cry, "WATCH OUT!" but before she could react, was tackled to the ground.

            The attacker was on top of her. The girl tried to get away but the large man lifted her up with ease and ran her into a tree.  She closed her eyes trying to fight the pain; she didn't open them again until she felt the attacker moving towards her again. Her eyes widen as she took in the dark skinned man who now had fangs.  The frightened girl was against the tree, the bark scraping her back.  The vampire's hand closing in around her neck choking her.  She tried to scream but no sound would come out.  

            Buffy Summers ran up behind the vampire ready to attack but he was suddenly kicked and flew back hitting the ground hard.  Buffy wasn't surprised.  The young girl didn't even look at Buffy, before going after the vamp.  The vampire stood up, a look of shock in his face.   The young slayer did a hard sidekick into the vampire's chest and did an uppercut to the creature's jaw.  She then ducked and under swiped him quickly, staking him.  The redheaded slayer arose and dusted herself off.  Buffy started to walk toward her, "Hey, nice job-" but before Buffy could finish, the Slayer looked up at her and quickly ran away.  

            "HEY WAIT!  I just wanted to talk!" Buffy called after her, but the girl was gone. "Well, that was nice," Buffy muttered to herself.  She shook her head, "Some vacation this is turning out to be."  She turned the other way and walked into the night alone.

            Buffy hadn't been in Los Angeles for quite sometime now, the last time was to visit her father four years ago.  Her father had moved out since then, and was reportedly in Spain. She hasn't heard from him since her mother died two years ago.  She had no idea where he is now, and frankly Buffy couldn't care less, she had more important things to worry about.  She walked the dark, lonely, familiar streets, with a piece of paper in her hand and a large bag on her back.  She was looking for Angel's Hotel.  As she walked, she passed many abandoned buildings, people just walking around, not seeming to remember the events of the past year.  An old man bumped into her and called her a whore and walked away.  Buffy turned and watched him go, he was obviously drunk. She couldn't let these things get to her. Buffy moved her long blond hair out of her face and continued walking.  She soon came up to the large hotel.  

The hotel was magnificent and was guarded by a black iron high fence.  Buffy walked in and followed the path around a large fountain.  The grounds were nicely managed.  Buffy stopped at the fountain and looked up at the hotel, she was very hesitant to go inside.  She took a deep breath and walked up the stairs and let herself in.       

            Buffy stood in awe of the beautiful lobby.  She looked to her left to see the check in counter, behind it was a familiar tall man, with his back to her.  

            "You made it," the man said soundly, not moving.  Buffy walked down the two stairs and entered the lobby fully. 

            "Yeah, isn't it great! I didn't die this time!" Buffy said smiling.  Angel turned around, also smiling.  He left the counter and brought Buffy into a tight embrace.  Letting her go, he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead.  

            "How'd everything go?  I heard that a huge earthquake sucked Sunnydale into nothing?"  Angel said while walking with Buffy to sit on a nearby couch.  

            "I wish, it would have been so much simpler," Buffy chuckled, but then her smile faded.  "Big losses, new beginnings, it was–" pause, "big," she said, looking up into Angel's eyes.  

            "Spike?  He didn't make it did he?" Buffy stared at the floor and shook her head.  "I am sorry, Buffy. I know you cared for him."  Angel put his hand on her shoulder.  Buffy straightened up, trying to keep her full height.

            "You know what? Willow is the real hero in all this." Buffy lightened her mood.  "Her power is incredible, Angel.  She used the Slayer Scythe to transfer the Slayer's essence into all the potentials, and all the potentials to come, forever," she hesitated.  "I am not the "Chosen One" anymore, I am now the "Chosen Some". Just a regular Slayer. I thought I would never get to say that word, regular.  I am supposed to live my life, that's what the others say.  To live my life normally, trying not to always save the day. Save the world. But-, what else can I do?  All I know how to do is to fight."

            "So then fight," Angel said.  

            "But, I feel like the world doesn't need me anymore.  That I have done my part and I am just some worn out vampire slayer.   It feels like I am getting sent off to some Old Slayer Retirement home."  

            "You have a problem being normal?  You used to be normal, Buffy."  Angel stood up.              

            "You don't know how I am when I am _normal_.  Angel, I was conceited, shallow. Damn I was freaking Cordelia." 

            Angel half smiled, "Well Cordelia is a different person now," he looked up at Buffy who was looking at him questionably. Angel cleared his throat, "You feel like you're a better person when you're saving them?"  He said changing the subject.  

            Buffy turned her back, "Thanks for the report captain obvious."  Buffy saw a woman walk down the stairs, and it wasn't Cordelia.             

            The girl walked down the stairs and glanced at Angel.  "Oh, Fred, this is Buffy.  Buffy, this is my friend and co-worker Fred."  

            Fred smiled warmly and shook Buffy's hand.  "Wow, I have heard so much about you.  The slayer huh? I heard about the Hellmouth, way to go Willow, she so powerful and beautiful!" she smiled, a little too excitedly.  She started to babble her Fred babble and then stopped and looked at Angel.  "Well uh yeah, I should be heading to work," she said.  Fred turned back to Buffy, "Nice meeting ya!" Fred lightly punched the side of Buffy's arm and hurried out the door.  

            Buffy watched as the very hyperactive girl walked out.  She gave Angel a side-glance.  "Work? I thought you guys worked here?"

            "Oh yes, I was about to get to that. But we were talking about you, first.  We have been offered to run and- well, own Wolfram and Hart." Angel said.  He began to get a little ancy waiting for Buffy's reaction.   

            "The evil bloodsucking lawyer group?" she said confused.  

            "Just the Los Angeles branch." Angel took her hand and started to walk up the stairs, "Don't worry I'll tell you all about it."

*****

            "So, where is everyone? Wes, and Cordelia?" Buffy asked as they walked down a corridor.  They both stopped in front of one of the hotel rooms.  Angel took out a set of keys from his leather jacket pocket.  

"They are at- work," Angel replied opening the door to the suite.  They walked in the door, and Angel switched on the light.  Which wasn't much of a light at all.  Buffy could tell this was Angel's room, it was poorly lit, and curtains hanged on the windows.  Angel's drawings were scattered around the room.  On every table had a sketch or a doodle.

Buffy walked to a nearby end table by a couch, and picked up one of the drawings.  It was of a young man.  Most of the drawings were of this boy.  Buffy turned to Angel, who was hanging up his jacket in the coat rack in the corner.   

"Angel? Who's this?" Buffy said holding the paper.  Angel grabbed the paper from her hand and crumpled it up.  

"Its no one," Angel said, darkly.  He then quickly gathered the other papers and disappeared for a moment.  

Confused, and a little taken aback sat down on the couch.  Angel soon returned, "Want some coffee?" he asked as he walked to the small kitchen.  

"Uh, no th-" Buffy started, but Angel was already making it. "Sure, why not, caffeine is always good."  Buffy sat, and looked around the room.  There was no television, two books were spread on the glass coffee table.  The couches were black leather and very smooth.  It was a very nice room, the suite was more of a small apartment, which suited him well.  

After a few moments, Angel returned to her with a cup of coffee.  He handed her a mug and smiled.  "Be right back!" he said abruptly, and walked out of the hotel room. 

Buffy sighed and took a sip of the coffee, which was extremely strong.  She slightly gagged and spit it back in the cup and placed it on the coffee table.  She sighed and placed her head on her hand.  Time had passed and Buffy looked at her wrist watch, it has been five minutes.

A minute later, Angel returned holding Buffy's bag and a mirror. Baffled, Buffy stood up.  "Well you are staying the night right?" Angel said putting down her bag down next to her on the couch.  

"You are way too good to me Angel," she said with pleasure.  Angel went into the bathroom and placed the mirror behind the sink.  

"Anything else you need, just ask."  Angel said.

Buffy put her hand on her stomach, "I am a little hungry, but I don't suppose you have any _real food," She sighed.  _

"Oh, right, well I'll go out and get you some, um McDonalds?" Angel said questioningly.  Buffy agreed.  "Will you be alright by yourself for an hour?" 

Buffy rolled her eyes. That was a good answer for Angel.  "Alright then, I'll be back soon."  Angel left. 

After Angel closed the door, Buffy turned and opened her suit case.  She took out some pajamas, sushi print, of course, and walked into the bathroom.  Buffy looked into the mirror that Angel had brought for her.  She looked tired, her blond hair was up, and her bangs were hanging in front of her face.  She traced her finger on a light scar across her forehead.  

"I need a change," she said confidently to herself, pulling her hair back with her fingers.

******************

            "Honey I'm home, and I brought you a nice juicy Big Mac!" Angel said happily as he closed the hotel room's door.  He looked around the room and paused.  "Wait, that didn't sound right."

            Angel didn't see Buffy as he put the McDonalds take out bag on the coffee table.  He heard the bathroom door opening to his left.  Buffy came out wearing only a blue towel around her body and hair wrapped up in another one.  

            Angel just stared at Buffy.  Buffy was waiting for him to drool or something, but he only smiled.  "I needed to take a shower, your bathroom is very nice."

"Thanks, Cordelia designed mostly everything. She really has never lost her styling techniques." Angel said. "Well, I think I'm gonna go set up the bedroom for you."

            "That'd be great, I'll be in, in a little while," Buffy said returning to the bathroom. Angel walked into the bedroom.  The bedroom was connected to the living room, but was separated by a folding door.  He pulled open the doors.  The bed was a king size with red satin sheets.  There were two bedside nightstands with matching lamps on them.  On the left far wall was one of Angel's souvenir murals from China.  

            Angel took off the comforter to the bed and folded it up and placed it in the closet, which was in the wall next to the large mural.  He then folded down the sheet cover, revealing the pillows and making everything ready for the love of his life to sleep in it. Angel then heard from the bathroom, the blow dryer running.  Angel then lit a candle which was placed on his dresser and put it on the nightstand on the right side of the bed.  

            Angel opened up one of his dresser drawers and took out his sleeping pants.  He took off his shirt and pants, and slid his pajama pants on.  He then went back to the closet and took out a blanket, and walked back into the living room.  Angel lay down on the longest sofa and put the blanket over him.  He closed his eyes and thought of Buffy.  He flashed back to when they first met.  When Buffy sprang from a high bar and kicked him in the back.  He then remembered their first kiss, it was in Buffy's bedroom, it was the time she had found out who he really was.  A vampire.  Angel still loved Buffy, he always would, but for the time being they both had jobs to do.  And also the fact that he was immortal.  Maybe one day, when Angel is redeemed, they can be together again.  

            Angel was startled when the dark room lit up when the bathroom door opened.  Angel squinted and saw Buffy's form in the light.  She walked toward him.  "What are you sleeping in here for?" she asked.

            "Its better than the floor," Angel said. He took off the blanket and got up.  Angel put back on the light and turned around to see Buffy.  Buffy's hair was a medium brown and cut short up to her shoulders.  Angel looked at her in shock.  

            "You like my yummy sushi pajamas?" Buffy said lighthearted.  Angel ignored her comment and smiled. 

            "Your hair, looks like-" he started.

            "When we first kissed?" Buffy finished.  She hesitated. "I guess our first kiss wasn't really what we wanted huh?"  Buffy and Angel inched toward each other.

            They both kissed passionately, but Angel broke away, just as they did their first time.  "What's wrong?" Buffy asked.

            "There is so much that has happened Buffy, so much we need to catch up on." He said.  

            "This is supposed to be my vacation," Buffy said pouting.  "I always get what I want on my vacations," she then leaned in and kissed him romantically.  After some kissing, they both stopped.  

            "Lets talk shall we?" Buffy said as she dragged her former lover into the bedroom playfully.

            Buffy jumped on the bed.  Angel went over and sat in the corner lounge chair.  Buffy lay on her stomach, legs in the air and frowned.  She then patted the bed next to her, inviting him to sit down.  Buffy sat up and let her legs hang over the side of the bed.  Angel sat down beside her.  

            He moved her new hairstyle out of her face and behind her ear, just like he always did.  "So," Angel said and paused.  "Spike huh?"

            Buffy rolled her eyes, "Here we go," and shifted uncomfortably.

            "No, its just that I wanna know.  How did everything sum up?" he asked.

            "You mean how we started getting involved?" she said.  "Don't get me wrong Angel, I had no intention at first, to be with him.  After I died, the second time-, everything was- different." Buffy said looking at the ground.  Angel listened carefully, silently urging her to go on. "When Willow and the others brought me back, I felt so alone, that my soul was gone. I wasn't Buffy anymore.  And when I went to see you, it made me miss so much of what we had.  I wanted to feel that again.  Spike and I, we had a connection.  We both had died once, and he was comforting.  True, he was a vampire, and had no soul, but for some reason, I knew that he cared for me truly.  He would sacrifice anything for me, he felt like it was his fault for my death. I guess, I sort a took advantage of him.  Knowing he would do anything for me, I became someone I never want to meet again.  I was letting myself go with him, feeling the evil inside of him, I guess.  One day, Riley found out about the two of us, and it made me realize what I was doing, so I stopped our affair.  Spike didn't take my decision very well.  He tried to rape me," Buffy paused, she looked up at Angel, her eyes started to fill with tears. Angel started to get a little wary and angry.  Buffy continued.  "I told him that I could never love him, so-, he left.  When Willow had turned to the 'dark side' she had mentioned to me that I was using Spike, just so that I could feel.  I guess I was doing just that.  Spike returned, and I found out that he had gained his soul for me.  I, -I felt so bad for him Angel, what he was going through-"

            "I know, I know how it felt." He replied.

            "I guess he took it better than you did.  Spike was used to the fact that he couldn't hurt anyone because of his chip.  Now he was just filled with guilt, and on top of that The First started to taunt him, making him slip into more self-loathing.  I could tell that he still loved me, I felt bad for not returning the favor.  We found out that Spike was being controlled by the First, and it was making him kill, ignoring the chip.  Soon, he recovered, and he was willing to do whatever it took to help us.  And that's when it came to your visit with the medallion.  Spike didn't think once about it, he just took it.  I wanted to stop him, because I feared the worst.  We went into the Hellmouth, and the girls gained their slayer power thanks to Willow.  And Spike blew up Sunnydale, along with himself." Buffy finished, she was emotional, and a tear rolled down her cheek.   

            Angel wiped her tear away with his hand and held her in a tight embrace.  She started to cry.  She let go of the hug.  "Were you really in love with him?" Angel asked, not knowing if he really wanted to know the answer.

            Buffy paused, "I thought I wasn't, but when I said it finally, before he died, it seemed real to me.  But he saw through it, and said that I didn't love him.  I guess I was never _in_ love with him, but I did love him."

            "I am so sorry Buffy," Angel said hugging her again.  "I wish I knew the Spike you knew, I would probably get along with him." Angel smiled, trying to lighten the moment.

            "No you wouldn't," Buffy said trying to smile.  "I don't see how I could live a normal life.  I still feel like the slayer, but I am not _the_ anymore.  I could just stop and let others save the world, but I don't see what else I could do." She said, changing the subject.  Buffy was waiting for some good advice. 

            "I am guessing you want my opinion?" he asked.  "Buffy, you are a strong, beautiful, outgoing, intelligent woman.  Don't you remember all of the schools you were accepted in? You can now go to those schools and maybe get a real job." Angel moved his body up to the headboard, leaning his back on it.  Buffy moved to lay next to him, putting her head on his chest.  Buffy remembered what it was like laying on top of a vampire, not hearing or feeling him breathe or his heart beat.  

            "Maybe I don't want a real job," she said, making little designs on Angel's chest with her fingertips.  

            "You could do what you are doing now, and just be behind the action, like Giles and the others.  Help guide young girls, help them save the world, while you live your life as a normal person.  I think you have done enough for one lifetime."

            "I guess I could, but- I want someone to share my new life with, and it won't be the person I want it to be." Buffy said, turning and looking into Angel's dark eyes.  Angel took Buffy by her waist and moved her to the side, off of him.  Buffy, looking disappointed, got off the bed.

            "Forget about it Buffy," Angel said sadly.  He sat up.  "You're doing it again, trying to grasp something that's so far out of reach.  You have to get your head out of the clouds.  I am afraid your going to have to have someone else eat you- ah I mean-enjoy your cookie dough self."

            "Why can't I help you redeem? It will take less time with the two of us working together." Buffy pleaded.

            "It doesn't work that way, you would be a distraction, you know that.  Buffy you cannot spend your life waiting for me.   When and if I become human is a long time from now.  And with all that is happening now, I am not even sure if I will finish making amends.  Wolfram and Hart said that I destroyed world peace, I doubt that will look good on my resume," Angel said.

            Buffy closed her eyes, trying to fight back tears.  "No," she said calmly shaking her head.  "There's no one else."

            Angel arose from the bed.  He tried to hug her but Buffy just turned her back to him.    "Don't," she said calmly.  

            "I want you to find someone Buffy, preferably living this time." Angel said, and then continued, "Someone that would love you like I or- even Spike.  Someone that could pleasure you, and yet have good intentions for the future.  Buffy you are almost twenty-three years old; it's the time to start thinking of starting a family now.  Now that you don't have to dedicate your entire life to Slaying, you could live as a normal female adult.  Hell, be a housewife if you want.  I just want to see you happy."

            Buffy didn't answer, she was quiet.  With her back turned she slowly nodded her head.  She turned to face him.  Her eyes were swollen and red.  "I'll do my best, -for you."  They both hugged intimately.  Buffy kissed him softly on the lips.  

            "Its almost two in the morning, you should get some sleep.  I bet you have a busy schedule tomorrow." Angel said pulling out of their embrace and started for the living room.  

            "You're not going anywhere," Buffy smiled.  She grabbed his waistband and pulled him back to her.  "What's just one night?"

            Angel smiled and they both walked to the bed, he lay down, and Buffy shuffled next to him.  Angel pulled the covers over the both of them, and he wrapped his arms around Buffy's waist.  Buffy quickly fell asleep in his arms.  

**************************

            Buffy jolted from her peaceful sleep in Angel's arms.  "Spike!" she gasped, and started to breathe heavily.  The room was almost pitch black, except the shine from the moon gleaming through the edges of the curtains; which made vertical light beams on the wall.  Buffy gently moved Angels' arm off of her and sat up.  The red lights on the alarm clock read 4:36.  Buffy shook her head, trying to forget the images of her nightmare.  She rubbed her eyes.  When she opened them back again, she saw a dark figure standing in the open folded doors.  

            "Who's there?" she asked quietly.  The figure moved towards her and a light beam appeared, revealing its face.  Buffy's eyes widened.

            "Hello love," Spike said to her.   "Dreaming of me again?" The figure that was in the form of Spike, moved closer to Buffy.  

            "Why? You've lost. It's kind of hard to _taunt_ once you lose."  Buffy said.  She stood up, facing the imposter.  

            "Don't you get it, pet, I have only lost a battle.  As long as this universe exists, I will continue filling the hearts of people everywhere."  Spike/First said to her.  "Look at you, all sad and lonely, -again.  You beat me, luv, you deserve a vacation.  Yet you run to the nancy-boy, just to get yourself more depressed.  Its pathetic, is what it is."  Spike moved to the other side of the bed where Angel lay.  He looked at Angel sleeping.  "You know what he's not telling you?  What he really wants in this world is to jump your bones and shag you until you pop." The First/Spike said laughing.  "Its true, I can read every dark desire inside of him.  Oh, and also what he's not telling you, that your not the only love in his life anymore either."     

            Spike/First looked at Buffy with a half grin.  Buffy closed her eyes and silently mouthed for it to go away.  "Now who could it be, I wonder?"  it said putting his finger to his lips, looking like he was in deep thought.

            "Bugger it, I'll just tell you, -Cordelia," he said.  Buffy opened her eyes with a start.

            "Now I know your lying, he would never touch her, sure he's friendly but never-," she started.

            "Don't believe me? Then go and open the bottom drawer of the nightstand that's behind you."

            Buffy backed away slowly then turned and bent down.  She pulled open the drawer.  There was a picture frame lying face down.  "Pick it up, luv." Spike said.

            Buffy did so and she turned it around.  It was a picture of Cordelia.  "Now why would he hide it from you?" Spike asked.  Buffy looked at the picture in disbelief.  She put it back into the drawer and stood up and faced Spike, who now had his shirt off. 

            "I guess your both even now, eh?" Spike/First said.  Spike started to walk toward her.  "I know you always liked me with my shirt off."

            "Leave me alone," Buffy said angrily under her tone. 

            "Oh don't worry," (Spike's shirtless form morphs into a blonde Buffy, wearing a purple top.) "you won't be seeing me very much now. I must prepare for my next apocalypse. Now that I've come so close I'm not giving up quite so easily.  I am just here to watch you squirm." Buffy/First laughed.  "And a warning to you girl, next time, if you're still living, won't be as easy..."     

                  The First/Buffy fades into the darkness of the night.

********************** 

            Angel awoke to find Buffy not next to him.  He took off the covers and put a shirt on and made his way into the living room.  Buffy was sitting on the couch.  She was fully dressed, and looked like she was waiting for him.  

            "Buffy?" 

            Buffy turned her head and smiled.  "Hey," she stood up.  "Listen, I got a call from Willow and she has a location on a slayer nearby.  I had seen the girl before but she ran off.  I'm gonna have to go find her.  It shouldn't take me long." She said distantly.  

            "Oh, well, do you need some assistance?  Wolfram and Hart has the best researching technology." Angel asked.

            "Thanks, but no thanks, I'll be fine on my own.  You're starting to sound like Riley." She said heading toward the door.  "I'll see ya later."

            "Wait, whats that supposed to mean?" 

            Buffy turned before opening the door.  "Nothing, sorry, didn't get much sleep, got lots of work to do," Buffy opened the door and stepped out.  When she entered the hallway, Wesley suddenly brushed past her.  

            "Oh hey Wes!" Buffy called after him. Wesley turned around.

            "Buffy?  I am sorry, I didn't recognize you." Wesley hugged Buffy.

            "I almost didn't recognize you until Angel told me about your new lifestyle, points for the Wes-man." She said smiling as they started to walk down the stairs and into the lobby.  

            "Thank you, well I talked to Giles and he invited me to teach at the school." Wesley said.  

            "Oh really? Why don't you?" Buffy asked.

            "I thought about it, maybe I will, but right now we have Wolfram and Hart.  And that's been taking most of my time." He said.  They both stopped in the center of the lobby.

            "Well it was great seeing you Wes, make sure you stop in at the school.  I got leads on a slayer in the area, I gotta go play messenger of the information packets.  That's my mission now, the official info gal." Buffy said smiling. 

            "That sounds great, oh and I will keep an eye out for slayers running around for you," he returned her smile.  They both hugged again. 

            "I might see you again today, I'm going to Wolfram and Hart tonight, will you be there?" Buffy asked as she walked up the stairs to the exit.

            "I am pretty sure I will see you,"

            "Okay then, see ya tonight," And with that Buffy left.  

            It was around ten in the morning, the sun was up shining bright, like most days.  Buffy heard on the news a few months earlier that it once had gone out.  Angel still hasn't filled her in, on what had happened here.  Buffy felt like he was keeping a lot from her, and she felt very uncomfortable.  She put up her now brown hair up with a clip, her bangs hanging over her face.  As she walked into the park, that she was in the previous night, she took off her jean jacket and held it over her arm.  She began her search for the girl she encountered the night before.

            Willow had told her that Buffy should be able to sense a Slayer from a short distance.  But she had no sense.  Buffy took out her cell phone from her jean jacket pocket, and dialed.  

            "Hello?" Willow greeted as she picked up the phone on the other line.

            "Hey Will, its Buffy, I need a location on that slayer.  I am right now in the park, she must be somewhere far from here."

            "Uh sure, just hold on a second," She said, her voice disappearing for a moment.  Buffy heard her typing at a keyboard.  Soon she returned.

            "I have an address.  66 Jacobs Street, its about 5 or so miles from where you are now."  She said, "Hope that helps."

            "Wow, that was really fast Will, how'd you get all this information?" Buffy asked.  

            "You know me.  Hey, have you talked to Dawn recently?" Willow asked.

            "Yeah, I did, she seemed kind of upset, I talked to Giles about it." 

            "Good, well I got some work to do so, I'll call in later for a check up?" Willow said.  "By the way Buffy, how's Angel?"

            "He's- good," she said with a sad tone to her voice.  "Bye."

            Buffy closed her cell phone and turned around and called a taxi.  

            The taxi stopped in front of a small condo.  She checked the house number and got out of the car.  She walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell.  No answer.  After some time she looked inside the window next to the door.  She saw an overturned chair.  She walked over to the other window on the opposite side.  Buffy saw a body lying face down in the middle of the floor.

            Buffy kicked open the door and walked inside.  She saw the woman on the floor; she was slightly overweight and had dark brown hair.  She knelt down and checked her pulse.  She was dead.  Buffy turned the body over; she was guessing this was the slayer's mother.  There was no vampire bite; Buffy saw that her neck had been snapped.  She shuddered thinking of her own mother.  

            Buffy looked around, it looked like a fight had taken place.  Furniture and objects were scattered all over the place. Buffy saw no sign of anyone or the Slayer.  She ran up the stairs.  A bathroom to her right and two bedrooms to her left.  She walked into the room that must have belonged to the girl's mother.  Yet again things were thrown around.  She stepped out back into the hallway. Buffy was afraid to see what was in the next bedroom.  She slowly walked in. 

            Blood was everywhere.  All over the bed, couch, dresser, carpet.  Buffy walked around the bed, she saw the girl, dead, with three sets of vampire bites on her body.  They really had a field trip.  Buffy covered her mouth in disgust.  She must have been dead for hours.  Buffy started to feel guilty for not running after her last night.

            Buffy ran out of the house and vomited in the lawn.  She took out her cell phone and dialed 9-1-1.

*************************

            Buffy sat at a local tavern drinking a strawberry margarita.  She felt after the events of the day, she felt like having a drink.  She hated to drink too much; she's had bad luck with alcohol.  But today was an exception.  It was a small tavern, and was crowded.  The bartender was kind of cute, she had thought.  But she was in no mood to flirt.  

            The bartender came up to her and put in front of her a screwdriver.  Buffy looked at it and said to the bartender, "What's this? I didn't order anything else."

            "Yeah, well a guy from over there said for me to give it to you," the bartender said pointing to the other side of the bar.  Buffy looked and she saw a familiar face, but could not quite put her finger on who it was.  She slowly got up and started to walk toward him.  As she got closer his features started to become clearer.  He had short brown, spiky hair, with long sideburns, a goatee and was wearing an eighties ensemble. A short black leather bomber jacket, and white tee underneath. The man who looked about twenty-four smiled at her and raised his glass.  

            "Buffy Summers!"

            Buffy's eyes widened.  "Pike!?"

*******************************

            "Pike's not a name, it's a fish," Pike said smiling and got off his bar stool and gave Buffy a giant hug.  

            Buffy broke away from the hug, "My God, what the hell are you doing here?"

            "Um, Buffy I do still live here, I think that's the question I should be asking you," he said pulling a bar stool next to him for her to sit.  The bartender returned with her drink that she had left.  "Its on me, you look sorta tense."

            "Wow, you look great." He continued.  "So what are you doing back in good ole' LA?"

            "Just visiting a few friends, trying to take a break from you know what." She said taking a sip from her drink.

            "Oh right, forgot, still a vampire sla-," Pike said. Buffy gave Pike a sharp look. "Layer, uh yeah didn't mean that either," he said smiling.  "Haha, Vampire Layer, that's funny."  

            "Yeah sure." Buffy continued.  "Yes, but we aren't really called Vampire Slayers anymore, we slay a lot more than that," she whispered.  

Confused, "We? I thought it was only you.  Chosen or some bullshit like that." 

            "Well now there's a few hundred, long story." She answered him. 

            "Seems like you've been busy.  Man, you look great.  You're no longer the cute fifteen year old I knew when I was eighteen.  Now you're a hot-?" 

            "Twenty-two year old woman?" Buffy said blushing.

            "Yeah, you know me, always bad with the math.  Maybe that's 'cuz I dropped out?" Pike said laughing.  

            "So, Pike, what have you been up to?"

            "Hmm, well I just got out of the military, served for four years.  And ever since you left I have been working on vampire hunting.  So I am pretty good at it now, for a human anyway.  Well my life is boring, I noticed you're here by yourself?  It's never good to drink alone, you must be having a hard time." Pike said. He looked deeply into Buffy's eyes, remembering when he had left her in Las Vegas seven years ago.  

            "I'm not alone anymore," Buffy smiled, hopefully they could get on another topic.  "Well, I told you that there are more slayers.  They have been just activated, and my job is to find some and talk to them.  And I was on patrol for one of them, and I found her dead, so I am kind of shook up, that's all."

            "I'm surprised your telling me all this, how do you know I am not a vampire?" Pike asked smirking.  

            "I can see what your talking about, the whole eighties montage your into, it does pinpoint you as one, but I can sense vampires, and your just not one."  Buffy said, she took another sip of her drink.  

            "Ahh, cool, spidey sense." 

            Pike reminded Buffy of Xander and Spike all wrapped into one.  I guess that was a nice combination in her terms.  "So what else? How many apocalypses have you beaten the crap out of?" Pike asked chuckling.

            "Just about eight,"

            Pike stopped laughing.

            The two talked, both trying to sum up the last seven years of their lives in five hours.  Buffy tried her best to tell him everything, all about Sunnydale, and her mother, and her friends, and of course the slayers.  

            Buffy's cell started to ring.  "Hold on a sec," she got up and walked to a quite corner of the tavern.  

            "Hey?" she answered.

            Pike watched her from the bar.  She was beautiful.  Her hair loosely pulled up, with strains hanging in front of her face.  Her lips were crimson, her eyes green as ever, and her chestnut hair was a delightful change from what he remembered.  She was wearing a red top with a plunging neckline, showing some light cleavage, with fringe hanging from her sleeves.  Her pants were black capris that fit perfectly.  Pike admired her; he had missed her so much.  He didn't want to let her go again this time.  

            Buffy started to walk back to him, Pike let go of his hypnotism.  "Hey I just got a call from my friend Willow, she said that there's a slayer that goes to Hemery.  She said that I should make a stop bye, school should let out soon, in about a half hour.  Would you like to come?  I could always use some company, especially that of an experienced vampire hunter," she flirted; Pike helped her get out of the bad mood.

            Without hesitation, "Sure!" Pike got up and assisted Buffy with her jean jacket.  They both walked out.  

            Pike's motorcycle stopped in front of he and Buffy's old high school.  Buffy got off the bike, and Pike turned it off.  He took of his helmet and he and Buffy sat down on a nearby bench outside the front steps of the school.  

            "Wow," Buffy said.  

            "Yeah, I know right, Hemery High, feels like ages." Pike said looking at the school.  

            "No, look," she pointed to a building that looked like the gymnasium, "it looks so much better than it used to, they did a good job." Buffy said smiling, her hair being blown by the wind.  She let her hair down and said, "Kids should be leaving any minute now." 

            "How will you be able to find this girl?" Pike asked.

            "Willow said that I should be able to sense her power, so yeah, I guess we just wait until I get a feeling."  Buffy said.  She heard the bell ring and stood up.  Pike did the same.  They both started to watch the doors.

            Teenagers started to flood out of the door.  Pike looked over to Buffy who was standing on his right.  

            She shook her head.  

            A few moments passed, kids still were leaving, but they got fewer.  Buffy suddenly turned her head.  As if she targeted something.  "There!"       

            Buffy started to walk fast, Pike stayed behind her.  They both were dodging through the crowd, Buffy not knocking into anyone, Pike was having a little more of a hard time. 

            "Hey!" Buffy called out to a girl that was standing, holding books talking to two of her friends under a tree, in the yard of the school.  The girl had pin-strait blonde hair, and had very expensive clothing. She looked as if she just walked out of a catalog, the stretchy ultra-low low-riders that if she had moved a little bit more would have fallen off.

            The girl looked at Buffy with a strange look. "Yes?"

            "I'm Buffy, and this is my friend Pike-," Pike walked up behind Buffy.

            "Man forgot how rude teenagers are." He said.  "Oh hey,"

            "Whoa, weird names? Are you trying to sell me somethin'?  Cuz' I'm not interested." The girl said. 

One of her friends, the one with long black hair came closer to her side and checked out the couple.  "What's with the 90210 wannabies?"

            Buffy ignored their comments and talked with the blonde again.  "Listen I need to talk to you somewhere privately.  Its important."

            The blonde replied, "Yeah right, like I want to be seen with a chick who so obviously dyed her _own _hair." She said laughing. 

            Buffy rolled her eyes and grabbed her arm.  "Listen, I do not have time for your valley girl, Los Angeles, I'm so hot attitude.  Been there done that, its time for the real world now, 'Clueless'." She said angrily.

            The girl attempted to take Buffy's hand off her arm but couldn't.  She then punched Buffy straight in the face.  Buffy let go of the girl's arm and struggled back a bit.   The girl was in shock, Buffy quickly recovered.  "Now are you ready to talk?"

*************************

            Buffy, Pike and the girl started to walk in the school's football field.  "So what's your name?" Buffy asked.

            "Kristy," she replied, her head hanging low staring at her hand. "Why doesn't my hand hurt? And how could I punch you like that?"

            "Kristy, you are a slayer.  You have a destiny, to fight and slay demons and vampires, and to join a race of superhuman fighters in swelling their numbers.  Hey its a lot better than the original moto." Buffy said.  

            Kristy seemed like she ignored everything Buffy just said, "Ew, gross.  I have to join a heavy metal band?" 

            "Hey I take offense to that," Pike said annoyed.  Buffy rolled her eyes.

            "No, not a band.  God, Pike was I like this?  Because if I was, remind me to apologize to Giles." Buffy asked. 

            Pike just shrugged and looked away.  He then walked in front of Kristy.  "Listen kid, you're a kick-ass superhero chick.  You have to stop the evil men from killing other people."

            "Oh," she replied.  "By the way I am no kid, I am eighteen years old.  So what kind of bad guys? Criminals?"  Kristy didn't seem to catch the seriousness in it.  

            "No, hon, Vampires, Demons everything that goes bump in the night." Buffy said.  "Pike do you know of any underground nests nearby?"

            "Uh yeah I think so, but no one is crazy enough to take on a nest by them- oh right forgot." Pike said.  "C'mon lets go." He said, starting to walk back to the school.

            "Wait huh? Where are we going?" Kristy asked as she walked alongside Buffy.

            Buffy and Pike dropped down into a manhole.  Buffy looked up.  "Hey come down here!"

            Kristy was kneeling, looking down at Buffy hovering over the manhole.  "Are you crazy? Like I'm getting my shoes in that!"

            Buffy was starting to get very impatient with the shallow girl.  "You know, vampire's roam the streets looking for poor helpless pretty girls.  You might want to come down here, underground, where its safe, with us."

            "Really?" Kristy asked frightfully.  

            "Uh huh!" Buffy said with delight.  "You don't want to die? Now do you?"

            "Alright, I'm coming down!" Kristy called down.  She started to slowly climb down the latter.  She got down and made a disgust face. 

            Buffy said to Kristy, "Sorry, Hon, its about four hours until the sunset.  Vamps only come out at night." She smiled.

            Kristy gasped, "No fair! You tricked me!" and started back up the ladder.  

            "You really want me to tell all your friends, that the shirt you are wearing was bought at Target?" Buffy said, threatening the distressed teenager.  

            Kristy turned around and dropped.  "Alright, you win."

            Pike, Buffy and Kristy started to walk down the sewers.  "God what is that awful smell!" Kristy said.  The pair looked at her.

            "Your in a sewer! Its supposed to smell like this!" Buffy said angrily.  

            "God, I am sorry that I am no professional in trudging around in sewers, like _you_ seem to be!" 

            Buffy just continued to walk.  The three of them stayed quiet.  Until Buffy spoke, "How much farther Pike?"

            "We should be coming up to it, its around this corner." Pike said, he was holding the flashlight.  

            Buffy took out two stakes from her jacket and handed one to Kristy.  "What's this?"  

            "It's a wooden stake, geez have you ever watched a horror movie in your life?" Buffy asked.

            "Horror movies? Hell no! Those are looser movies, no one cool watches those anymore.  Plus, Blood? Guts? No thanks to grotesque for me." 

            "Your hopeless!" Buffy yelled.  She turned to Pike, "I fear the worst for her."

            Pike had someway of talking to the girl.  "Listen, that stick in your hand? It's very sharp.  It's the only way to kill a vampire, -well besides sunlight and beheading.  You must take this end," pointing to the sharp end of the stake, that Kristy was holding. "And stab it through the heart."

            Kristy started to shift nervously.  "Do I have to do this?"

            "YES!" Pike and Buffy yelled in unison.

            "Alright, alright, I'll do my best,"  Kristy said.  

            "Pike are you equipped?" Buffy asked.  Pike opened up his bomber jacket and revealed four stakes, and a glass of holy water.

            "Never leave home without them," he said winking at the girls.  

            Kristy smiled, Buffy was cool.  "I also got some nifty artillery from the military at my apartment." Pike said.  They stopped in front of a sewer gate.  "Here, this is where they are."

            Buffy turned to Kristy, who was looking scared and trembling.  "It's going to be alright, just stay behind us and watch.  This is your future."

            Buffy did a quick dash and did a drop kick at the gate, which broke off and fell inside.  She and Pike walked inside.  It was completely dark, Kristy stayed behind, not entering.  Suddenly a vampire attacked her from the side, pinning her to the ground.  Pike threw the vampire off of her.  She quickly did a flip back to her feet and did a jumping kick in the vampire's chest.  Buffy spun around and kicked another vampire that was coming.  Pike was fighting a vampire nearby but could not see him clearly.  Buffy turned around.

            "Come here, I need you to shine the flashlight around the room so we can see!" Buffy called to Kristy.  She shook her head, refusing to come out.  Buffy was attacked from behind by a balding vampire.  He gave her a bear hug from behind.  Buffy struggled.  Trying to breathe.  "KRISTY! HELP!"

            Kristy gritted her teeth and slowly stepped out and shined the flashlight on Buffy's face.  She then scanned the area; two other vampires were cornering Pike.  She just stood there.  Suddenly a vampire grabbed her hair and pulled Kristy into him.  The vampire had dark hair and was young.  Kristy screamed.            

            The vampire ripped Kristy's shirt, exposing her neck and shoulder.  Kristy's eyes went wide and did a strong back hand to the vampire's face.  The vampire fell backward.  "NO ONE TEARS MY CLOTHING!" she yelled, holding her torn shirt in place.  Kristy picked the vampire up and punched him again in the chest.  It flew backward in the wall and hit its head on a low hanging pipe.  She heard Buffy behind her.

            "The stake! Stake him!" Buffy cried, as she back headed the vampire, releasing his grip, she quickly staked him.  Pike came up to her, dusting his clothes off.     

            "No worries," Pike said panting, "All in the days work."      

            "Look," Buffy said looking at Kristy.

            Kristy held the vampire by his collar and was pummeling him in the face.  "Kristy, stake him!" Pike yelled to her.

            She looked at them confused, "Oh right!"  She withdrew the stake, which was protruding from her back pocket and stabbed the vampire in its chest, exploding into ash.  Buffy walked up behind her.  Kristy didn't move.  

            "Its ok, its over, for now.   Great job!" Buffy said trying to comfort her.  Kristy slowly turned around with tears in her eyes.  She hugged Buffy.  

*****

            Buffy, Pike and Kristy were above ground now.  It was nearly eight pm and getting dark.  They were sitting in the park on a bench.  Buffy was talking to a troubled Kristy.  She had just finished her talk about the school.

            "And here's the information packet.  I hope you will be attending soon," Buffy smiled.  "And don't worry, things will look up.  There are hundreds like you and me, we can get through this all together." She smiled and hugged Kristy.  

            Kristy nodded her head and looked up at the sky. 

            "I'll drop her home Buff, its almost dark." Pike suggested.  He stood up, Buffy did the same.  

            Buffy lead Pike away from the bench, so that they can talk privately.  "I would like to leave, tonight." She said.  "I've down all my work here, and I really should get going, more people to see."

            "Oh, alright." Pike said with a sad tone.  "I thought maybe we could do more of that catching up thing?"

            "Pike, you've been a great help, but I just don't have the time.  How about this, promise to me that you will come to see me in New York?"

            "Sure, I would like that," Pike hesitated, and looked around the park.  "Funny, it's almost how we first parted."

            Buffy hugged him tightly and gave him a peck on his cheek.  "I haven't forgotten." She whispered in his ear.  

            Pike smiled and turned to Kristy who was staring off at a distance.  "Hey, Kris, lets go!"  Kristy got up and followed Pike to his motorcycle.  As she walked Kristy waved goodbye to Buffy.  Buffy returned it.  She watched them drive off. 

            Buffy pushed her way through Wolfram and Hart's revolving doors.  She looked around, even though it was eight thirty at night, it was still crowded with employees.  She walked to the security desk, a man with a graying moustache, slicked back graying hair, and wearing a suit was sitting behind it.  

            "Yes, may I help you?" he asked.

            Buffy replied, "I am looking for Mr. Angel's office?" 

            "I am sorry but you need an appointment to see Mr. Angel," the man said. 

            Buffy rolled her eyes and sighed.  "Can you possibly call him and tell him Buffy is here?  He would surely let me see him, we are good friends."

            "Sure, that's what they all say," the man said picking up the phone.  "I am sorry he is in a meeting right now you will have to come back tomorrow."

            Buffy was getting impatient.  "How about a Mr. Wyndam Price?  Would I be able to see him?"

            The man started to type on his computer.  "Yes, you can," he handed her a visitor's pass.  "He is currently in the research quarters.  You must go through the metal detector and take the elevator to the fourteenth floor."

            "Thank you," she said taking the pass.  She clipped it on the lapel of her jacket and walked through the metal detector. 

            Wesley sat at a large office desk reading the newspaper.  Around him were large bookshelves filled with demonology books.  His intercom ringed.  He pressed the button to answer, "Yes?"

            "Mr. Price?  A young lady is here to see you, Ms. Buffy Summers." The secretary said.

            "Let her in Lucille, thank you." He said clicking off the intercom.  A few moments later Buffy came in.  "Buffy, great to see you," he said standing up.

            Buffy shook his hand and sat in a chair opposite the large desk.  "So what's up Wes?"

            "Actually I have some free time, just catching up on some news." He said.  "Would you like anything to drink?"

            "No thanks, I'm good.  So, where's Cordelia?"

            "Angel hasn't told you?"

            Buffy hesitated, "No."

            "Cordelia has been in a coma for quite some time now, about four months.  She is not expected to wake for a while." He said.

            "Oh God, what happened?" Buffy asked.

            "I will try to sum it up for you.  Angel told you about Jasmine right?  Well, Cordelia gave birth to her, and once Jasmine was done using her body, she hasn't woken up.  Our medical staff has her right now.  What possibly happened is, when Cordelia ascended to become a higher being, she hasn't came back yet, and Jasmine took her body as her host.  We aren't sure if Cordy will be even coming back." He said.

            "Poor Cordy," Buffy said.  "You should have Willow take a look at her.  She can do anything now." 

            "So I've heard.  We should do that." Wesley smiled.

            There was some silence, then Buffy broke it, "What meeting is Angel in?  I really need to talk to him.  I would like to leave toward Cleveland tonight."  

            "Ah yes the new and improved Hellmouth?" Wesley said.  He got up from his chair and walked out of the room for a moment.  He soon came back in pushing a cart with ten books on it.  

            "We know just about everything here at Wolfram and Hart." He handed her a book.  Buffy looked confused as she took the book from him.  "Just put your hand on the cover and say 'Hellmouth'"

            Buffy, looking quite doubtful did so.  "Hellmouth," and opened the book.  The book's pages started to fill with text, all about the Hellmouth.  It was filled with information about the past Hellmouth, in Sunnydale and how it was destroyed. "Ooh, my name is in it!" Buffy showed Wesley the book.  She turned the page and she saw the information on Cleveland and where it was located.  "Here it is."

            Wesley took the book from her and ripped out the pages.  "What are you doing?" she asked.              

            "Don't worry." He said, handing her the pages.  He closed the book and reopened, the pages returned, duplicating itself. 

            "Cool beans," Buffy said.  

            Angel walked in.  "Hey Buffy!  Sorry, I was in a meeting." He gave her a quick hug.  

            "No problem, Wes was kind enough to give me some info on the Hellmouth." 

            "Good job Wes," Angel said.  "I also have something for you, actually Fred does." Angel handed Buffy some sort of device.

            "Thanks, What is it?"

            "Its something that will help you on finding slayers.  Press that button." He said pointing to a button on the side of it.  The screen lit up and it showed a black and green map of the LA area.  "The red dots on the screen show a slayer.  It tells you the navigation location of them as well." Angel then pointed to a dot.  "That's you"

            "Wow, this is great, thanks!"  Buffy said, hugging him.  Angel handed her, her suitcase.

            "You left it at the hotel." 

            "Thanks again.  Well I should be getting on my way." She turned around and hugged Wesley, kissing him on the cheek.  She lightly kissed Angel on the lips and picked up her bag.  "I count on you guys visiting on the school, Bye!"

            Buffy was just about to leave the building when Angel stopped her.   "Buffy wait!"

            She turned around, "Yeah?"

            "Would you come with me for a minute?"

            Buffy sighed, and walked with him to a nearby empty office.  "Listen, I'm sorry for not telling you about Cordelia." Angel said taking her hands in his. 

            "Its ok Angel, I was just sort of upset that you didn't tell me, when I told you all about Spike."

            "Oh? What about Sp-, oh God," Angel looked at his feet.

            "You were talking about her coma?"  Buffy said.  She hesitated, "The First came to me last night, he told me about you and Cordelia.  But its ok, you don't have to explain.  I was just hurt that you didn't tell me."

            "I'm sorry, I should have told you," Angel said.  He let go of her hands.  

            Buffy smiled, "I guess we are even now huh?" They both slightly laughed.

            "Well you should get going, the bus just drove up," he handed her, her bag.  

            She turned and left the office, and back into the lobby.  Angel stopped in the office doorway.  "Buffy,"

            Buffy turned her head. "You still my girl?" Angel asked.

            She smiled and replied, "Always," and with that she walked out of the building.

            Buffy walked down W&H's steps and toward the awaiting bus.  Pike sat on the curb a few yards away next to his bike.  Buffy didn't see him as she got on the bus.  The bus started up and started to pull away from the curb.  Pike arose and got on his motorcycle and followed the bus.  

End Chapter 3


	5. Chapter Four: Solitudes

_Chapter Four: Solitudes_        __

It had been two months since the Sisterhood arrived and they were quickly coming to the holiday season. Ten more young women had come to the school thanks to the Sisterhood. Besides a few more tense moments between Fiona and Addison everything was fine. Giles had decided to take over all the Watcher training for Dawn, Evan, and Matt. Class was scheduled to meet every Monday, Wednesday, Friday but Giles had been known to call a class session anytime he wanted to. Mostly, like today, they met in the library office. It was nearing dinner and Giles ended the lecture on the higherachy of demons from the accelerated time dimensions. "That's it for today." He smiled and put down the book, "But before we go off to dinner you need to make a decision. Well as you know this is the last official week of classes for the school before winter break but since the three of you are remaining I was wondering if you just wanted to go on ahead and continue-?"

            "No!" said the three teenagers in unison, effectively cutting him off. 

Giles gave then shrug. "Well I guess that settles that. Rather play then work I guess I can't stop you." He sighed with a false sense of disappointment. 

            "The guilt trip won't work on us, Giles." Evan said with confidence.

            "Yeah, we earned are two and a half weeks off where going to take 'em." Dawn chimed in. Getting up from her seat taking her friends arms to come with her. "Now lets get out of here before he tries to appeal to our sense of duty." 

"We'll see you at dinner." Matt was barely able to say before being dragged out by the two girls. Giles smiled after them as they left. 

They had been almost inseparable since they met. The only time Addison's concern about having a male student at the school was called into any concern was one night when he went missing only to be found fast asleep on the floor of girls room. It was quiet innocent, really, they had fallen asleep working on their latest class project. It was nothing compared to the brothel the school almost turned into on the Thanksgiving weekend when some of the girls stuck in a few boys for illicit party they decided to throw.

Dawn had made friends with the slayers but was isolated because she was not one as well, she finally had a group of her own. Matthew, who had come to the school, still mourning over the loss of his father, felt comfort with the two girls who had also had to live through the loss of a parent. Evan had not had another vision like the one she had on her second night at the school.

Giles put his things from class away vaguely aware of someone at his door, he didn't turn around as he put his books back on the shelves. "They did buy into the 'lets work over your vacation' idea?" 

"What do you think?" He turned around and gave her a smile.

"I think they're going to ask me if they can go skiing." Fiona said taking a seat on the office couch.

"So how was your day? I didn't see you this morning, but I heard you got some of the girls up early." 

"Oh yeah, I came across a whole nest of Vamps on patrol late last night so I woke up team 'Thunderdome' just before sunrise to get some action. I had been up all night so I slept in. I don't have classes on Monday for that very reason." 

"They did well I assume."

"Enough," she sighed, "I need to talk to Robin about giving Elizabeth extra training."

"Elizabeth Guild or Truman?"

"Guild. She has almost there but she gets self conscious when she fights. She defers to others and that could get her killed. Lydia used to do that, I've found that giving then one on one combat practice helps." 

"Have you heard from Lydia or Arien recently?" Giles asked. 

"Last week I got an email. I guess they really like being nomadic because they're somewhere else every week." She hid the fact she was worried about them but Giles already new that, they were her children. She looked down at her watch. "We'd better head to dinner. I helped cook but it should be that bad." He nodded and they left his office together. 

"You cooked?" He asked nervously.

"I can cook!" she replied slightly offended. "Anyway, never in my entire life have I ever thought it would be with demon. Well a demon like that anyway."

"Yes Clem is quiet strange." Clem had arrived at the school only a few weeks before. He had heard from a friend of a friend about this place and wanted to see if Buffy survived the fight. Dawn invited him to stay for the weekend and then never left. He starting doing odd jobs around the school until they offered to let him stay at the school. He was to work with Andrew, which to everybody's delight kept him occupied and under control now that Xander was spending less time with him. 

"I mean I met many passive demons before, they're still my friends but Clem is so… Do you know what word I looking for?"

"Cheery, friendly-"

"Cuddly." She said to surprise him. "Like a children TV show host like Barney or Big bird." He laughed at her joke. "It's good for the girl to be around him, I guess help them learn tolerance."

"Yes, and he's been a delightfully helpful." Giles putting his hand at the small of her back ushering her into the dinning hall. 

The room was too bare for the season, for Giles' taste. On the instance of Willow and the other Jewish or non-Christian Slayers there would be no Christmas decorations in the public rooms. They had all agreed, however, that the icicle lights would be appropriate to decorate the dinning hall for the winter season. The made there way to the staff table as dinner had already began. Ona again had taken the seat between Giles and Robin, Faith had gone on another mission. Kennedy again was left by herself at the table waiting for the often late or non existent Willow. It always surprised Ona that Kennedy made no effort into doing anything during meals but to wait for Willow.

Sophia and Xander had moved to where the three watchers had used to sit but have respectfully moved their distance from Ona to avoid any further complications between her and Addison. Sophie burst out laughing from a joke Xander had told her quietly. Andrew, who had just sat down near him at the table, got up and left the room in a rather disappointed huff. Clem was of at the students tables telling them stories. Andrew had grown very sensitive of Xander. Xander didn't even notice. Since he had had someone else to talk to Andrew moved from best friend back to 'Andrew, will you shut up!'. Xander moved past his isolation and had started to take more of an active role again, and had even decided they needed a new class: Woodshop and Carpentry. The new Guidance Counselor, Sophia, agreeably help set up the class which would be available starting next semester. First lesson of course would be carving stakes. 

It was clear to everyone that Xander had developed a crush, even the overly distracted Willow had noticed it. Only Fiona knew, however, that Sophia fancied him as well. She was not about to let him know that, she couldn't allow him to become to dependant on her and she herself was not ready. Xander was very much like that Brian Travers she knew, and she was not quite over his passing, either. 

The meal was pleasant, for everyone except Kennedy. After ten minutes she stormed out only to storm back in alone. She seemed highly frustrated and angry, Giles tried to talk to her but she would only say, Willow was too busy to come to dinner. She was to busy most nights, to the point that this was a fairly normal occurrence. Willow was trying to learn how to navigate the Scythe, it was important, they were not going to stop her from doing her that.

********

            The room was behind two solid metal doors, and several complicated locking spells. It would take all the Slayer in world to bring the doors down, and if anyone wanted to get in there that's what it would take. Inside the room was were all the items that needed to be kept protected. Books with the potential to end the world, mystical items and The Slayer Weapon, the Scythe. The weapon even had it own safe. Willow Rosenberg was the most frequent visitor in that room. 

            Every night she would come into that room and every night she would hold the weapon in her hands. Before she had begun the 'Awakening' she felt nothing from the weapon but now she could feel the power radiating. Unlike with the rest of the Slayers she did not feel like it belonged to her, but she felt like she could control it. She it took her time to learn about navigating other dimensions, since every dimension had it own rules she never know quite what to expect. She could have probably gotten to this step a lot sooner but she did not foolishly rush into this. 

            "I can do this," she says to herself. Again to night she pulls it out of the safe and takes in her in grip. Willow sits cross-legged on the floor and holds it out in her hands. She takes several deep breaths and closes her eyes. She had to concentrate, concentrate on the source of it's power, it's essence.

            She wasn't sure how long she had been sitting there. At one point she was vaguely aware of someone coming to talk to her on the other side of the door but she felt she was to close to finding a way, to stop. Images passed through her mind, sometimes it was hard to tell which were her own images and which were being projected to her. Then it like jigsaw puzzle everything snapped into place. 

            Everything had an orange glow about it, the people, the places. She could see them, all the slayers going about their normal lives. As she took it all in, the rate of the images began to increase until she could determine a single one from another, it was overwhelming, but she continued to hold on. She could feel the energy going through her and called out in her mind for an anchor. "Buffy" her mind called out and the other images faded and was replaced with just one. She relaxed as Willow was shown the images of her best friend. 

            It the colorful glow, Willow could see Buffy patrolling, the more she concentrated the more she could see what was happing around the Slayer. "This must be happening right now," She thought as Buffy began to fight off a vampire attack. She could see an aura of blue around her slayer friend, and the vampire was shadowed in black. Buffy was winning and Willow called out in her mind another name. "Faith!" she called out. The images zoomed to one a Faith sleeping in a hotel room in North Carolina. She too had the blue aura. A rush passed through Willow as she understood, she was in complete control of what she saw, she just needed a focus or it would all come at once. She did that several more times. Each time her vision improved and more and more clarity would come from each Slayer. She found it strange to find two of them together but her mind compensated. "Maybe they were part of the Sisterhood," she thought, moving on to the next location. They became so comprehensive she was starting to see the string attached to the blue aura holding all the slayers to a central place. It was then, when she realized, she could look down and see her hands. The blue aura was coming from the weapon in her hands. She was no longer watching the Slayers like on television but she was standing there like she was actually in the room, with them. She couldn't communicate with them, but she could feel the world.

"Kennedy!" she called out and what until she was connected to her. The images whooshed around until she was standing by her side. Willow was taken aback a moment when she realized Kennedy was in the training gym teacher her class, there were lots of glowing blue young women in the class. She looked out the window in disbelief, when she noticed it was daylight. "I must have been in all night," she though passively, delighted by the accomplishment of the beginning of her task. Now that she was comfortable, she was going to try a few things.

********

            Kennedy was in no better mood in the morning, Willow had not come to bed last night. She was grouchy all through breakfast and the young Slayer's were not happy about having a class with her. She was known as the hard-ass even when she wasn't in a bad mood. Luckily for the students, the trainers changed almost everyday. The absolute favorite instructor for this class was Faith. She was  rarely at there but when she was she won't drill them to hard on the basics and let them get right into the cool fighting. After her was Bridget, who, if she wasn't telling them scary stories, let them believe they were actually still kids and the let them play gym games.   Robin came after that. He was fun but also made them go the whole ten yards with warm ups and become drill sergeant but he ranked higher on the scale then Kennedy for one reason, he wasn't a Slayer and did not have the stamina to go as long as she made them.

            "Okay," Kennedy called getting the girls attention. They had just finished they're warm ups and now it was time for the lesson. "Today we work on balance." She gestured all the girls to the balance beam. "I need my first volunteer?" If this was the advanced class she would not want for volunteers instead of the meek few that were here. "Okay, Sara." She pointed to the 15 year old in the back. Sara was always quiet and Kennedy thought is was time she participated. 

            Kennedy jumped up on the beam and Sara did the same. Sara was short with hair that was dyed a blue and green. Faith had brought her to the school a month ago, she was outgoing then, but not so much anymore. She never seem to want to fight, but she would participate with her teacher's request today. "The rules are you have to stay on the beam, you can jump and flip but you can't touch the mats or the walls, your mission is to knock me off as I try to do the same to you." Kennedy told her. Sara nodded and the sparing began. 

            Kennedy planted her feet on the bar in a fighting stance.  Sara, quickly performed a leg sweep causing Kennedy to slip but grabbed onto the bar and flipped back up.  The girls around them started to cheer for Sara.  Kennedy had a look of anger in her face, no one ever got the first hit on her.  Kennedy did a left jab, but Sara quickly blocked it with her right hand, and grabbed Kennedy toward her.  Flipping Kennedy on her back.  She quickly recovered and flipped over Sara's head.  "That's it!" she yelled and charged at Sara with an uppercut.  Sara was just about to loose her footing when Kennedy grabbed her by her arm and kicked her in the face.  Kennedy was about to roundhouse her again, but Sara performed a back spring and lifted her legs up in a handspring. 

Kennedy smiled as Sara dogged her last kick. 'She's getting good,' She thought proudly as Sara balanced herself on her hands and thrusted her legs forward to kick Kennedy off the beam as she flips forward. Kennedy was ready and jumped and dived over Sara. Then everything slowed down, for Kennedy at least. One moment she could picture herself grabbing onto the beam, then next it felt as if her heart had been ripped away from her stomach grew cold. She missed the beam and tumbled past the mats onto the hard wood floor. 

The girls gasped and came rushing to her. They had heard the bang as her head hit the floor. Sara jumped off the beam and went to her. "Are you okay?" She asked as one of the other girls ran off to get another teacher. Kennedy's eyes were open but she seemed very far away.

'Something's wrong.', she thought. She told them she was fine, she just bumped her head, but she knew it was more then that. Her body ached. It hadn't done that in a long time, not with anything so minor as this. Going all night with a vamp, yes, but not falling of a beam. As they helped her sit up, she still could not figure out how she missed it the first place. She felt wrong and she needed to know what it was. As the other slayers doted on her, while waiting for the others to arrive, she realized she couldn't feel them. There had always been this mystical undertow, when she was around the girls but now it was gone. The realization hit her like a bus in the street, she wasn't a Slayer anymore.

********** 

            Robin and Giles quickly came to the gym and helped carry Kennedy back to her room to lie down. They wouldn't have been too worried about her because the girls fall all the time, but when they came to her she was screaming that there was something wrong, that she lost her power. They just thought she had hit her head but her body had began to bruise and one thing they all knew was a fall like that should not have left a mark. Sara was waiting outside her door pacing back in forth. Every so often she would stop and peek into the room. It had only been five minutes but Sara had never hurt anyone before, it's why she didn't like to fight. 

            Inside, Kennedy would not stay lying down. "You don't understand," She tried to push against them but failed. "I lost my strength. See I can't even get passed you guys." 

            Robin stepped back and realized that she was still struggling against only Giles. "I think she might be right." Robin said and Giles back away. 

            Kennedy calmed down and told them what happened. "I can't explain it." Giles said going through his mind of  what to research to find out what was wrong. An idea struck in his head and he moved over to her again. "Did you notice anyone prick you." He asked as he took a look at her arms looking for needle marks. Because of the slayer healing there would probably be no clear evidence of any intrusion into her skin but he looked anyway. If she was given a big dose and resent dose of the Slayer inhibiting drug, it might show a small bruise. There was nothing.

            "No, it wasn't anything outside, I was just in the air and wham, it was gone. That's why I fell. It was ripped out of me- I was cold and empty." Giles was taken aback. Those had been the words Evan had used to describe a vision she had a few months ago. Maybe this was it, what she picked up on. Kennedy groaned and lay down on the bed. She felt terrible and confused. She couldn't even listen to what Robin and Giles were saying. She fell quickly into depression and she though of her life without her power. She held back her tears. "Willow." She called out in desperation.

            Giles went to her side again, "Dawn went down to get her." He assured her. "Don't worry, we'll figure this out and all will be as right as rain." He turned back to Robin. "Make sure the other girls are alright." He commanded. Had the awakening only been temporary? His mind kept racing. 

            Kennedy closed her eyes concentrating on trying fill the void, when it was filled for her. Her eyes shot open as the cold emptiness of her insides were replaced with the same feeling of warm soup. She could feel the power starting to run through her veins again. She sat up in the bed.

            "What is it?" Giles asked as she just smiled and looked down at her arm. The bruise began to heal and fade away. Giles reached out and touch it. "Amazing." He said studying her forearm. "Are you feeling better." Again instead of answering she smiled and grabbed onto wrist stood up and twisted it around his back. He gasped, "I'll take that as a yes." She let him go.

            "I'm feeling perfect now, the same as before." She began to stretch,

            "Well it's very odd, I think, we need to look into this it could be very dangerous."

            "Yeah-" She managed to get in before Willow broke into their room a smile on her face. Kennedy ran to her a gave her a hug. "Willow." Kennedy was upset when Willow quickly broke of the hug.

            "It worked!" The witch exclaimed and kissed the slayer's forehead.

            "What worked?" Giles immediately asked.

            Willow left Kennedy and went to Giles. "I was able to do it, navigate the Slayer dimension, like a backdoor to all of them and I was able to connect. The Scythe calls to them and is the gateway, it's how we get in and who ever is holding it, is like a goddess. I could do anything, find any of the girls…" She continued to babble on until Giles put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

            "So, what were you able to do?" Giles asked her plainly. 

            "You know already," She cocked her head to Kennedy. She was on such a adrenalin rush she couldn't stand still.

            "You were the one that cut off Kennedy." Giles sighed in relief.

            "Who do you think did it?" She asked with a genuine Willow smile. "I was able to suspend her power for fifteen minutes because I willed it into existence. It was like the 'will it be spell', you know were I made you blind, and Buffy and Spike hear wedding bells. Next time it will be easier 'cause I know what I'm actually doing." 

            "You cut me off!" Kennedy finally interrupted in disbelief.    

            "You were the only one I thought was appropriate. You were awake and close by."

            "I was practicing with one of the girls on the balance beam and I could have broken my neck."

            "I'm sorry, baby." She said pulling her in for a hug. "I didn't mean to hurt you. Time goes a lot faster in there cause I started the process and I didn't know if I could get that control again. Also I had stayed up all night and wanted to have something to show for it." Willow smiled and reassured Kennedy again.  "Now that I got that project licked, I can go back to-"

            "Willow-" Giles called, to not hear the end of that sentence. "So you can do, we must bring the Counsel together to discuss the next action."

            "No rush on that, I binded all the Slayers under twelve." She said confidently.

            "What?" 

            "No girls younger then twelve should have that kind of power so I 'willed it into being' that the binding won't be lifted until they turned twelve. I was thinking of making it thirteen, like when I had my Bat-Mitzvah but I didn't want to cut off the girls that were already here." She shrugged. One second Willow was smiling, the next she had fallen into Kennedy's arms past out. Kennedy lifted her up with ease and put her on the bed, she was in a very deep sleep. Neither Kennedy nor Giles seemed to worried by it in the slightest.

            "Wow, that lasted longer then I expected." Dawn said coming into the room. Kennedy began to prepare Willow for a long deserved rest. "She was so hyped up when I got her out of the Vault, Evan and I took bets on how long she would stay awake. I lost obviously."

            "And I won." Evan said coming up behind her with a smile. 

            "It's not fair, you can see the future." Dawn teased.

            "Not all the time," she said innocently. She looked over at Willow. "She'll be fine."

            "Yes, I'm sure your right." Giles said began to usher the younger girls out of the room. "She hasn't slept in two nights at least she will finally get some rest. When Giles had gotten himself and the girls out of the room he turned back to talk to Kennedy. Kennedy was half-heartedly taking care of Willow. "I want you to take the rest of the day off and get some rest, if I wasn't clear." She gave him a very weak smile and nodded. "I'm sure she didn't mean to hurt you." He tried to reassure her again.

            "I know. It wouldn't have been so bad if I hadn't been…"

            "I'm sure." He smiled, "well get some rest, Dear, and when she wakes up will you tell her I want to have a word." She nodded and he closed the door as he left.

            Kennedy looked down at her lover and sighed. "How could you have done that to me?" she asked quietly into the nothingness of the room. "Why?"

*******

            Nighttime had fallen over the school and Robin made is way briskly from the kitchen to the front living room. While he had gone to get a midnight snack, he heard the girls mention that Faith had returned to the school. She was a few days early. He was surprised she had not come to see him first. He was not always been her first stop, he didn't expect himself to be, but he heard she had been back for a few hours, now.

            He knew she would be in the front living room, because no one else was in there. In fact no one was every in there except when showing the school to parents of potential Slayer students. She was in their sitting on one couches that faced the big window out to the front of the estate. She was curled up and was in the dark. All Robin could see was the moon light that struck her face in a flattering manner. She looked so far away.

            She was staring out the window, unmoving, lost in whatever thought she was in. "So you found me?" she said quietly even after he had determined that she was not aware of him entering the room. 

            "I was surprised to hear you were back so early." He smiled softly and slid next her on the left side of the couch. She didn't look at him just stared out the window.

            "Yeah, North Carolina was a bust. The girl was a drifter, Watcher trained." She turned him, showing the cut near her right eye. "She didn't take to kindly to my interest in her and we got into it." She turned back to stare out the window. I already told Ona, she could be the dangerous type. She thinks she might know who the girl is." She said lightly with the tone she used only contemplating greater situations than what to wear the next day. 

            "Well good thing Willow figured out how to bind the out of control Slayers, today." Robin said slipping his arm around her. 

            "She did?" she asked surprised moving out of his touch. 

            "Yeah, she tested it on Kennedy cut her off for fifteen minutes."

            "Oh, I bet the brat was happy about that." 

            "Yeah, well, Sara thought it was her fault. They were sparing at the time." Robin told her what happened and about no more Slayers under the age of twelve.

            "Poor, Blue," Faith thought, Faith had nicknamed her "Blue" because of her hair.  she had been one of the girls Faith had brought in, a combination of rebellion and respect for authority, as long as they were doing their job right. She was always so hesitant about using her strength, this is probably not gonna help that all that much. It was also the perfect excuse to leave Robin. Something was also nagging at her mind, what Willow had been able to do.

            He had noticed her distance but she would just get that way sometimes. It was her first long-term relationship and considering her formal lifestyle, doing pretty well with it. He didn't mind giving her, her space. 

            She stood and walked into the hallway. "I'm gonna go check up on my Blue-girl. Make sure she isn't beating herself up about this." Faith lied casually.

            Robin remained staring out the window. "I am I going to see you later tonight?"

            "I'd hold my breath, if I were you." She said amusingly, for the first time tonight letting her humor out to play. He smiled as she finally left. She'll be fine, he told himself, things were going to be changing around her and Faith would be fine. 

End Chapter Four.


	6. Chapter Five: The Windy City

_**Chapter Five: Windy City**_

            Buffy was barely awake when Willow had called her up and told her she would be needing to stop in Chicago.  Dawn had taken the initiative and called their Aunt there to ask if Buffy could stay with her for a week or so.  Willow told her that she had had a vision of some sort that slayer's were fighting each other in the south side area.  Buffy decided that she could take care of this quickly and only planned on stopping by her Aunts and then leaving tonight.  Buffy heard the bus driver call "Chicago!" and the bus stopped.

            Buffy arose from her seat and took down her bag from the over hang and lugged it out of the bus.  She looked around warily.  She had never been to Chicago, when she was not hanging on the arm of her mother.  She also was too young to remember and believe her aunt lived out in the suburbs at the time. They moved right before her cousin had gone to the hospital and she rather not think about any part of that trip in her mind. 

            The bus station was in the middle of downtown, not to far from the business district but the area still looked seedy. Buffy walked under the alcove of the station and took out her cell phone.  Soon her Aunt picked up.  "Yes? Oh Buffy Anne!"

            "Aunt Jackie, how are you?"

            "Good Buffy, good.  So I heard you're in town?  Do you need an address?"

            "That'd be great!" Buffy said trying to sound like a good niece as she walked toward a taxi.

            Jacqueline Callaway awaited Buffy's arrival standing outside of her door.  A taxicab pulled up and a young pretty girl with brown short hair came out and smiled at her.   Jackie felt a little awkward she hasn't seen her niece since her sister died.   And before then, she didn't even remember.  Buffy was with them when her daughter had passed away in the hospital.  Buffy was really close to Celia.  Buffy walked up the stairs and put her bag down.

            Jackie hugged her niece tightly.  Buffy took off her sunglasses and looked at each other deeply.  "You have your mother's eyes."

            Buffy smiled, and her Aunt led her inside.  The house was small but pleasant.  Jackie walked into a room, which was off the side of the kitchen, and the dinning room.  It was empty, just a mattress on a box spring as well as a dresser on the other side of the room.  

            "This was Celia's room, it's been empty for years, I haven't had many visitors." Jackie said as she looked blankly into the room.

            "Its fine, I hopefully won't be staying long anyway."  Buffy said as she put her bag on the bed.  "Maybe only a day or two."

            "Come, you must me hungry." Jackie said, the two went into the kitchen.  "Sit down dear,"

            Buffy did so.  "Its great to see you Aunt Jackie." 

            Aunt Jackie had curly hair like her mother, with brown graying hair.  Her face was kind and inviting.  Buffy and her never had a close relationship, but she reminded her so much of Joyce.  

            Jackie gave out some crackers and ice tea and sat down across from Buffy.  "So you live in New York now? How wonderful."

            "Yeah New York is great, so much different from Los Angeles or Sunnydale." Buffy said taking a bite of a Ritz cracker.

            "I am so glad you made it out of Sunnydale before the earthquake."

            "Oh, well there was a warning of a future earthquake so everyone made it out, well almost everyone," Buffy stared at her ice tea.

            Buffy felt bad for her Aunt, she's been alone for quite sometime.  She's a schoolteacher; she always said the children in her classes were her children now.

            "Buffy, I know about you… the vampires." Jackie said lifting Buffy's head up.  Buffy's eyes widened.  "Your mother told me, when she was sick in the hospital.  She told me if anything ever happened to her, that I would take care of you and your sister.  But, I was too afraid.   Afraid that I would lose the both of you, like Celia."

            "Oh my God, Aunt Jackie, I never knew.  You didn't call at all after the funeral." Buffy's mind went threw all the possible reasons, and how hard it was for her to take care of Dawn alone. 

            "I know, I know, I was afraid." Jackie said.

            "Afraid of what? Commitment?" Buffy said with a touch of attitude.  "You mean you could have came to Sunnydale to help watch Dawn?  And you knew I was a Vampire Slayer?  Jackie you could have helped out so much!  Do you have any idea what I had to go through? Dad abandoned us, you were always there for us before, and Mom was always there for you. You're just like him."

            "Buffy please, you don't understand." Jackie tried.

            Buffy stood up, "No, I understand rather well.  You lost your daughter, I watched her die.  But now you think you should stay in seclusion.  You can't raise any more children, Jackie?  You work at a fucking school!" Buffy yelled, all she could see in her aunt was her father.  "It's been thirteen years!"

            Jackie buried her face in her hands.  "Its not only about her, I didn't-didn't because of you.  I didn't want to get involved in your slaying."

            "My slaying? What's that have to do with anything?" Buffy said angrily. "You're the last family member we have." Buffy stopped.  "I have work to do, I'll be back later." Buffy grabbed her jacket and walked out the door, slamming it. 

            Jackie started to cry.

            Buffy walked out of the house in a huff, as Pike watched from the corner.  Pike had been loosely following her ever since she left Los Angeles.  'It's not stalking, she already knows me', Pike thought.  As Pike could tell, she looked pretty pissed off, so he decided to reveal himself.  As he began to walk toward her he began to think maybe it wasn't such a good idea.  

            "Hey Buff!" Pike said, walking toward her. Buffy's eyes seemed to turn a fiery red, but that might just be Pike's fear and imagination.  

            "What, how? Where? How did you- know," Buffy stuttered in a fury.  "Pike! What are you doing here?"

            "Oh, c'mon Buff, you know I couldn't let go of my favorite girl again." He said trying to flirt with her.

            "Pike, you ditched _me _in Las Vegas."

            "And you ditched me in Los Angeles, now we are even." He smiled.  Buffy admired his charisma.  He always was quite the charmer. 

            "Alright then, lets move on to why.  Why are you here?" Buffy said.

            "You know why,"

            "Ok, I understand you want to help.  If you think you can hold your own now, then you can.  Besides, I could always use a chauffer." Buffy smirked as she gestured to his motorcycle parked by the curb.  She started to walk toward it.

            "That's not the only reason."   

*****************

            Buffy and Pike stopped to eat some dinner and were now driving in the night Chicago streets toward the south side.  The south side wasn't the best part of town lots of gang activity in that area.  Buffy feared about the strange communication between two slayers, that Willow had seen.  What type of backgrounds could these girls have?

            Buffy gripped tightly on Pike's waist as they speeded through the busy streets.  The street lamps flew by them incredibly fast.   Suddenly Buffy got a shot through her stomach and squeezed Pike's waist hard.  Pike yelped and turned his head, as he slowed down.  

            "Pull over," Buffy yelled.  Pike pulled over and turned off the bike.  Buffy got off.  

            "What is it?" Pike said taking off his helmet.  Buffy started to walk down an alley.

            "I had a sharp pain in my stomach." She said walking away.

            "Oh, cramps, right." 

            Buffy turned around and shot him a hard glance, "No dumbass, I feel slayer strength around here."

            Pike followed her down the alley.  "Where are they?"

            "Not sure," Buffy said, they continued walking.  Buffy heard a trashcan knocking over and started to run.  

            They ran and turned the corner of the alley that turned into a fenced off area and saw two girls fighting.  

            "Why are they fighting?" Pike asked.  

            "I don't know, but its time to teach these girls a lesson." Buffy ran up and pushed the two girls, separating them.  One had dark skin and was tall; the other, a brunette with her hair tied up in a bun.  "Okay ladies? What's the prob-," Buffy was punched in the face by the brunette and Buffy fell to the ground.  

            "STAY OUT OF THIS!" she yelled.  The dark skinned girl stood her ground, she looked afraid of the brunette.  

            "Hey, hey, girls, we aren't here to fight." Pike said walking up to them.

            "Yeah, well we are," brunette said.  Buffy stood up.  

            "Girls, I am a slayer like yourself." She said rubbing her bruising cheek.  

            "What's a slayer?" the black girl asked, with interest, her breathing still heaving from the fight.  

            The brunette replied, "I don't care!" she charged and kicked Pike and Buffy with tremendous force and pounced on the dark skinned girl.  "You're going to get it you fuckin' slut!"

            Buffy got up and tore the brunette off holding her in a full nelson.  Pike helped the dark skinned girl up.  "Why does she want to kill you?" he asked her.

            "Her beau broke up with her and is now wit' me," she said fixing her hair.  The brunette turned and started to pummel Buffy in her chest with her elbow. 

            "Buffy!" Pike yelled.  "Stay here!" he said to the dark girl.  He ran and punched the slayer in the face, who didn't move an inch.  The brunette kicked him in the chest, making him fall backward hard.  Buffy slowly got up.  She noticed that this girl was street fighting, she had no technique at all, but she was angry and reckless.    

            "Listen to me!" Buffy tried, but the slayer grabbed her by the jacket and threw her into the hard brick wall.  She held Buffy against the wall and repeatedly punched Buffy in the face.  When suddenly she got shot in the leg and fell to the hard pavement.  

            Pike lay on the ground aiming the gun.  The dark girl screamed.  Buffy snapped back to full consciousness and looked at Pike, glad that he had the gun.  

            The brunette was on the pavement cradling her leg, crying angry curses.  Pike stood up and pointed the gun at her.  Buffy walked over to the other slayer.  "What's your name?"

            "Shavonne," she said shaking.  

            "How old are you?"

            "I'll be seventeen in a month." She said staring at the brunette on the ground.  "She wanted to kill me."

            "I can see that," Buffy said turning to the brunette.  "What's her name?"

            "Dani."

            Buffy took out her cell phone and dialed Willow.  "Hey Will, how's that extraction spell coming along?"

            Pike stood with the gun pointed at Dani's head.  "Don't even think about it, you're lucky you still have one workable leg."

            Dani was screaming at the top of her lungs.  She had so much hatred and fear inside of her, blood was spilling out of her uncontrollably.  "Hey Buffy! We need to get her to a hospital!"

            Suddenly Dani froze, and started to convulse, then fainted.  "Holy shit! She's dead!" Pike yelled.

            Buffy and Shavonne walked up beside him looking down at the girl.  "No she isn't, she has her power taken away, now she's unconscious due to the pain in her leg."  

            Buffy dialed 9-1-1 again for the second time since her journey started.  

            "Well Shavonne, looks like we need to have a talk," Buffy said as the three walked back to the street, hearing sirens in a distance.  

The First/Anya appeared, watching them in the dark as the three walked away.  She smiled.  

Buffy and Pike said goodbye to Shavonne as they saw her walk into her apartment building.  Buffy sighed.  

"It's getting pretty late," Pike, said looking at his watch.  It was 9:15 at night.  "You feeling tired?"

Buffy turned and started to walk back to the parked bike.  "Not tired, just a little tense I guess."

"Why don't we go and get some drinks?" Pike asked, picking up his helmet.  

Buffy smiled, "Are you asking me on a date?"

"Get on the bike."

"So, I'll pick you up around eleven?" Pike asked as Buffy got off his bike.  

"I'll be here waiting, I really need a shower, feel all sticky." Buffy said making funny faces.

"I'm gonna check in at a hotel," Pike said starting back up his motorcycle.  "Later."

Buffy took out her key that her Aunt had given her and opened the door.  The house was dark except one light in the living room.  Buffy expected her Aunt was asleep.  She made her way through the living room and into her bedroom.  Buffy grabbed her bag that she left on the bed and went into the bathroom.  

Buffy took her shower and put some bar cloths on. She went to the mirror and looked at what she could with her damp hair. They're wasn't much she could do with it so she just scrunched it and left it loose to curl around her face. It was always a plus that her hair dried quickly because she did not want to go back out into the cold with wet hair. She grabbed her jacket of her bed and walked back into the kitchen.  

"Going out again?" 

Buffy turned to see her aunt wearing a robe. She remind her very much of her mother. The same look she got when she had caught Buffy trying to sneak out. "I didn't mean to wake you." She said trying to sound stoic. In fact after she had calmed down Buffy realized she had treated her Aunt as if she was her father. Everything seemed to come back to him in the end. She wondered what the vampire Webbs would have said about that revolution.

            "You didn't. I couldn't sleep." She took a sip of the glass water that she held in her hand. They stood there for a moment, nobody speaking or moving knowing what they could say to end this stand of. They were the last family each other had.

            When they finally broke, they broke together, "I'm so sorry, I should have stayed with you guys…" "I shouldn't have said that I know how hard it was for you after Celia…"

            They both continued on and Jackie gave her niece a giant hug. Buffy closed her eyes and felt safe, for a moment letting her heart and mind to think it was her mother holding her. "I made that promise, I couldn't… I couldn't get close to you or Dawn just to have you die. It would have killed me, but I should have gone."

            "You would have been right, I died. You would have had to watch me die." Buffy continued to hold on. 

            "You died?" Jackie asked confused.

            "Long story." They sat down on the couch and Buffy cuddled up lying on her lap, they talked for what little time they had before Pike would show up and they let everything out. Buffy glanced at her watch, five after eleven. "My friend will be here soon." She sighed getting up. 

            "Okay," She said giving her a kiss on forehead. "Be careful, Buffy."

            "I'll be leaving early in the morning." She said, as she got closer to the front door. 

            "I'll leave the box in your room, for you and your sister, So you don't forget it." She said and they shared another hug. "Thank you for coming."

            "Thanks for letting me stay." Buffy gave her a smile and walked out the door.

"I've been out here for like ten minutes," Pike said to her as Buffy walked up to the bike.  Pike was on it, the motorcycle running, holding his helmet.  He got to see her in the streetlight, Pike quickly shut up.

"Wow, you look – _marvelous_," Pike, said trying his best at a Billy Crystal.  Buffy smiled.

"I feel like dancing," Buffy said.  She shook her hips, her short wavy moving side to side.  

"Sweet, there's a dance club a block away from the motel I'm staying at," Pike said.

Buffy got on the motorcycle once again and they drove off.

They walked into the club, which was hopping to the music of 50 cents' "In the Club" Buffy smiled as they caroused through the crowd of people.  "Ooh, I love this song!" she said grabbing his arm.  Pike rolled his eyes and followed her to the dance floor.  

Pike enjoyed Buffy's choice of style of dancing.  She moved her hips, moving up and down. Her arms waving to the beat of the rap music.  Buffy didn't really enjoy rap, but she loved this particular song.  Buffy took Pike's hands and moved in closer into his body, the both of them moving to the song.  Pike wrapped his arms around Buffy and they started to grind.  Buffy wanted to let go of all the tension she's been having, and finally start her vacation.  Buffy turned in Pike's arms, her back against his chest.  The song ended and Buffy broke the dance.

"Lets get something to drink," Pike said as they headed over to the bar. 

Pike took of his bomber jacket and hung it on the back of the chair.  Underneath his jacket he was wearing a sleeveless undershirt.  "Wow its really hot in here," Pike said, sweating slightly.  He wasn't sure if it was from the dancing or from his attraction to Buffy.

"Yeah," Buffy said as she took her seat.  "I thought you hated dancing?  You did quite well out there.  Did they teach you that in the military?" 

"Very funny," he said smirking.  He ordered the two of them drinks.  "So that girl, Dani or whatever her name was.  Why was she- psychotic?"

"Not all girls that are 'chosen' are exactly the best people all around.  Some can be dangerous, its not like the Powers that be have a background check up on the girls they choose." Buffy hesitated.  "I've encountered one before."

"Wait, that wasn't your first one?" Pike asked.

"No, before the Awakening."

Pike moved up eyebrow questionably. "Huh?"

Buffy sighed.  "I died, Pike.  Just a few weeks after I moved to Sunnydale.  I drowned.  Yet I was revived by one of my best friends, and it triggered another slayer to be called.  She then died and a girl by the name of Faith was called.  To make an extremely long story short, she was psychotic, drove me insane, not literally though.  Started to kill people, worked for the bad side.  She eventually turned herself in for a few years, we needed her, she wanted to redeem herself and helped me with Sunnydale." 

"Was she hot?" Pike asked.  Buffy punched him the arm and laughed.

They had a few more drinks.  Buffy told him also about the second time she died.  Which was another shock to him.  They started to feel side effects of the alcohol.  

"So yeah, my friends yet again resurrected me," Buffy said laughing.  

"Man I wish I had a lesbian witch friend," Pike said laughing.  

            They danced to two more songs, similar to the way they did before.  And drank more.  They were having a great time.  

            "What are your plans next?" Pike asked.

            "Well I have to go to Cleveland, a new Hellmouth is open there, I have to set up a 'faction' if you will.  Then off to New York.  I should be back around January.  I plan to spend some time in Cleveland." Buffy said.  

            "Buff- its almost two o'clock." Pike said holding her hand at the bar.  "You want to go back to the motel?  Or do you want me to drive you to your Aunts?"  The two were obviously buzzed, almost drunk.  

            "I'm not sure you can drive Mr. Fish-man."  Buffy said standing up from her stool.  "Lets go."

            They both walked to the motel, which was only a block away, holding onto each other to keep warm in the cold Chicago winter night.  Pike opened the door to his room with a keycard and the two stumbled in.  Pike closed the door and turned around to find himself almost pinned against the door. She was so close he could feel her breath through his shirt. She moved closer to him so his back was up against the door.

            "What are you doing?" He asked coyly as she brought her hands to lay on his chest. 

            "What do you think I'm doing?" she tried to ask innocently as she played with his dog tags. 

He gave her a look and she licked her lips. He took his cue and leaned down and tilted her chin up to give her a kiss. It started out sweet and tender but soon became more passionate and hands began to roam. In one moment of responsibly Pike stopped them before they reached the point of no return. She sighed in annoyance and he wrap his arms around her head rested on his chest. "Are you sure?" he asked, "You've been drinking." 

She pulled back so he could see her face. "In the words of Monica Geller, you know friends, I'm drunk enough to know I wanna do this, but not enough that you'd be taking advantage." She smiled and her kissed her at the same time led them to the bed. It was only a matter of moments before cloths were no longer a problem. 

*****

            Pike awoke.  It was almost noon the next day.  He smiled as he turned to his right, expecting to see Buffy there.  She wasn't.

            Pike threw off his blanket and slid his boxers back on and looked around the motel room.  She was gone.  Pike noticed a note on the nightstand next to Buffy's side.  Pike picked it up and read it:

               Pike:

                        I am really sorry for leaving you like this.  I know what it feels like, but I can't be with you.  I did something I shouldn't have.  I'm heading to Cleveland.  It was great seeing you again.   

                                                                                                Buffy

P.S.: Don't follow me this time. __

    Pike crumpled up the paper.


	7. Chapter Six: Storms

_Chapter 6: Storms_

            It was December 22 and all the girls returning home for the holiday break were for the most part gone. Only twelve were staying and already the wars had began, with Christmas in a few days and Chanukah starting only a few days before. It was all friendly competition, though only six of the slayers felt the need to participate in this. Mostly it was the two Jewish slayers and Jacey (the atheist that used to be Jewish) singing the "Dridyl" song at the top of their lungs as other group sang "Silent Night." They were decorating the student lounge with anything they could think of.  

            Faith peered into the room as she passed by. The girls were having fun and smiling together. She had always been apprehensive of all those Slayers together in one place because she and Buffy had never gotten along. She had always thought it was because there were never more then one at a time but it was all different now. There were two more of them to be singled out the same way. She shrugged it off and continued on her way to her room. She had hoped not to run into Robin, who was in the library, so she took the long route to go up to her own room. As she went up the back staircase she got lost in her own thoughts.

            "Good Afternoon, Faith." Giles asked her from the top of stairs. She didn't notice him standing there nor hear him speak. "Faith?" he called again. She had been hard to reach in the last week. She had stayed at the school but had not taken up her usually instructional occupations. "Faith?" he called again. This time she was at the top of the stars next to right next to him.

            "Oh, hey, Giles." She said passively. She stopped a few feet away and turned around. "What are you doing at this end of the hall," she remarked suspiciously, snapping out of her funk for a few minutes.

            "Ona."

            Faith gave a smirk and a laugh, "I know it's probably been a while ,  G-man, but you kind of need her here to be doin' her." She started to move again, walking backwards.

            "Hmm?" he said quickly his mind trying to go over what she just said, the when it hit him he blushed. "Oh." He looked to the door, "I'm waiting for her." He said and still felt he needed to explain. "She's getting dressed." Faith raised an eyebrow. "We're having a meeting with parents and she needs to be dress like this is a normal school." Then he went on and knowing that she was just trying to rattled him. "One of the girls Buffy found out in L.A. Her parents want to check out the school. They aren't aware of the Slayer- thing."

            Faith gave him another smile, "I got it, that's why your wearing a suit. I know the drill, keep to my room and no mentions of creatures of the night or pointy weapons." She turned around and went on to her room. "Good luck." 

            Giles turned back to Fiona closed door. He tapped his fingers on the on the door frame and he heard her call him from the inside. He opened the door cautiously and saw her standing, her back to him, looking in a mirror. "You're ready?" He asked stepping into the room.

            "I feel like as my students say a 'tool'." She turned around. "I look like Addison." She was actually wearing one of Addison's suits. It was light grey wool skirt to the knee with a matching jacket over a white dress shirt. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and she was not wearing any shoes. 

            "You don't look- err, bad. Just different. More like-" At least during his years of hearing the banter between the girls about clothes, to know what to say when a girl wasn't looking their best.

            "-Watcher like." She finished for him. She sighed and looked back at herself. "I guess I'll have to suffer through it." It wasn't a surprise to Giles how quickly Fiona had taken over the position of second in command. She was more efficient than Willow at helping with the parents. Robin still remains in charge of most of the academic aspects of the school. Addison was a bit annoyed by Fiona's- undertakings, but she was quite skilled with the recruiting of new students. 

            "Yes that's the price we pay." He offered and she began to lead them out of her room. "Don't you need you're shoes." He asked as they began walking down the hallway to the main staircase.

            "Sophie left me a pair near the door, I'm not putting on heels until the last possible moment." She said taken them down the hall. "Have we told all the girls about 'best behavior'."

            "Yes, I threaten our little religious war about that." He gave her a smile.

            She stopped them. "With what?" she leered.

            "It was an empty threat to take away their holiday privileges, but it seems to be working and they will be leaving any moment to go out." They continued on their way. 

            "Ah, out. I'm assuming Kennedy and Willow are supervising?" She said as they started their decent down the staircase. 

            "Yes, and Andrew is preparing tea for the group. Clem is out, I didn't ask where to but he'll  be back when we give the all clear." 

            She looked over to him and gave him the once over. He had on a charcoal suit with deep blue shirt and complementing tie. "The suit works for you." All the staff had to be dressed up today incase they ran into parents.

            "Yes, I don't think I wore one since I had a meeting with- your father- after Buffy's resurrection. The second one." Giles said. 

            "Ah, well it's very nice and Xander tells me it's a good thing you don't wear tweed anymore." Ona laughed as they made it to the end of the staircase.

            "The greeting room is ready," Sophia said once they came into sight. "and here are the shoes." She handed a pair of shoes to Fiona as she step of the stairs. She gave a smile to Giles. "Make sure she puts them on." She joked.

            "Of course. Are you going out?" He asked her.

            "Yes, in a few minutes. I have to go pick up the gifts for the girls." Sophie smiled, and Giles nodded in acknowledgment. Flipping her purse over her shoulder. "I will also be pick up our," gesturing to both Giles, Ona, and herself, "children's presents."

            "I already got Dawn a present."

            "The book?" Fiona rolled her eyes.

            "I'm picking up fun presents." She looked at her watch. "The Lawson's will be here any minute, everything is in the living room. Andrew is ready with the tea, and Suite Four is ready to be shown." She smiled gave Ona a hug for good luck and was out the door. 

Sophia went to the garage and took the car that she and Fiona shared. As she pulled out of the driveway, and drove down the path that lead to the front gate; She saw Xander bundle up in his winter jacket. She stopped when he saw her and she rolled down the window. "Where are you heading?" she smiled.

Xander gave her a grin and walked up to the window. She was always the person he wanted to see. "Just walking, taking some of the girls to town, for some shopping, later. Why you might ask me, I have no idea but I think it has something to do with the decorating war. You?"

"Christmas shopping." She said simply amused by his story.

"You haven't heard? It's no longer called Christmas at this school." He said with a jocular tone. "The council of young slayer high decided that this week will be declared simply, 'exchanging gift week'." 

"Then why is the rec room half white and blue and half green and red?"

"I guess they didn't hear the ruling yet." He made her laugh.

"Well better be off, and you better get inside before you catch a cold, I wouldn't want you to get ill for our first date." She flirted with him.

"I would never do that." They said goodbye and she drove off out the school gate. Xander headed back to the school. He smiled on his own when he realized he was finally going on a date with Sophie. Sure she was almost a decade older than him, and was a Slayer but she was still younger than Anya was. And then there was that Inca Princess Mummy. Sophia could still pass for her twenties. Faith was a Slayer, and Sophia was a lot more stable and mature to handle it. But Sophia had one key element that he had always seemed to find comforting in a girlfriend and relationship: she was honest. Not in the way of Anya and Cordelia but she would call him on his shit without hesitation but she had tacked and timing which they did not have. Every time he watched her help one of the girls his heart went to her. A black limo passed him as he walked on.

By the time he reached the school the limo was parked and the people inside were greeted inside the school. "Mr. and Mrs. Lawson, Miss Kristen" Giles began moving out of the doorway so they my enter, "Welcome to the Watchers' Academy of New York. I am Rupert Giles, Director of this school and this is Fiona Avery one of the assistant directors." Fiona was standing by his side and began to lead them into the entrance alcove. She directed them to the coat racks and then to the sitting room. Richard Lawson was a tall man in his late forties with slightly graying hair, and wore a suit and tie. His wife, Yvonne, was the same age, slim and wore formal business attire as well. Kristen or Kristy was dressed in what would be considered upper class attire that was bland in color and completely unfitting for the girl. Giles was surprised because Buffy as describe her as a normal California girl. 

"I so glad we were able to meet with you over the holiday's, Mr. Giles, Ms. Avery." Yvonne said taking a seat on the very beautiful decorated room. Colonial American, this room was left unchanged when the school moved in. "We were visiting Kristen's grandmother in the city and we thought it would be the perfect time to see this school she was excepted into." She was pleasant, but because both Rupert and Fiona had gone through the same experience in there childhood, Mrs. Lawson's behavior had been taught to her. 

"Oh well, even though a student is only required to attend the two primary semesters a year, we are open all year round." Giles assured her. Kristy gave a glaring look at Fiona and rolled her eyes. Giles caught it. "I'm glad that you found your daughter's acceptance an interest to come see us."

"Well the information we got on this school we found very interesting," Said Mr. Lawson. "This school has just opened this year and we were told that admission was very exclusive, we were wondering how our Kristen, got on your radar screen?" Mr. Lawson asked knowing his daughter wasn't the brightest bulb in the box. Fiona smiled knowing this was her place to take over.

Right outside the room, Xander tried to stay out of sight, he didn't want to have to deal with parents as he waited for the girls he was to drive to the shops. They came to the door loudly but quickly quieted down when Xander told them too. Giles got up and closed the door to the room, and gave Xander a good luck look. "Sorry just a few of the girl taking a feel trip into town." Giles offered.

"Ah, they are supervised?" 

"Yes, we do not let the students leave the school, unsupervised. Unless you have arranged it with us in advanced." Giles smiled retaking his seat. 

Yvonne turned back to Fiona, "Ms. Avery you were telling us about the selection process."

"We have scouts that we send out to high schools in all of North and South America to find girls that meet the requirements for placement in this school." She smiled.

"But our Kristy here, doesn't have the most diverse student record."

Fiona gave them a kind smile. "That's why we send out scouts. Nothing tells us more about a person then meeting them one on one. Not every type of potential can be gauged by testing or even standard schooling. Kristen made quite an impression on our Miss Summers." She gave the sixteen year-old a knowing smile and Kristy couldn't help but recall the first vampire she slayed and it made her smile.

            "Now what's you association with the Watchers' Council of England?" Mr. Lawson said.

"You've certainly done your homework." She smiled and continued on, "Yes, we are funded by Watchers' Historical Society." Playing it cool. "Last year, there was a explosion do to electrical surge in our main headquarters. It was a terrible tragedy and we lost many members.  This school is actually a branch of the Watchers' Academy of England and we decided to come here to recruit new members. If Kristen becomes a student here she is given a lifetime membership, to the Watchers Society, that will be passed down to every generation after her." She told him exactly what he wanted to here. If he had called it the Historical Society, then he had not a clue how influent ional the organization was but he knew the proper name, so he knew more about the age and contacts about this schools associations that he lead on before.

Mr. Lawson gave her a inquisitive smile and lean in towards her, so only she could hear. He knew what this was. "I went to Yale. We had our own Societies-" 

Fiona got the hint and leaned in with her own savvy smile and whispered. "The Skull and Bones are nothing compared to the Watchers. We've been around long before the fall of Roman Empire." They moved back to sit upright in their chairs again, the smile could not be removed from his face. Fiona had him, he would send his daughter here if it was his choice in a heart beat, he was a business man, he knew what contacts meant. He knew how it would always be there for his family. The next part was to convince Yvonne that this was the best place for her little girl. 

Giles continued on to tell then about the requirements and classes, that Kristen would have to take while being at the school. Andrew had brought the trays for tea and managed to do so without a word, to anybody. Andrew had been threatened enough by many, many Amazon  Slayers that if he messed up with the parents he would be beaten to a bloody pulp. He walked out with a only a sigh and closed the doors to the living room behind him. 

"Isn't he too young to be working a at an all girls school?" He heard Mrs. Lawson asked through the door. Andrew leaned in to listen to their explanation.

"Don't worry about Andrew," He heard Fiona's muffled voice, "He's-" but Andrew could hear no more because Robin had come up behind him and pulled him away. Andrew was more intimidated then normal by Robin because he was wearing his "principal suit" instead of his normal 'I'm out to save the world' get up, which he had liked being able to get away with, while working at the school.

"What were you doing?" Robin asked he let Andrew go.

"They were talking about me." Andrew whined and pointed to the door. "I have a right to know what they say.

Robin didn't say a word just glared at Andrew, until he stopped whining and started to leave. Robin left after Andrew disappeared down the hall and then waited, with his ear to the door, for a place were he could interrupt. He looked down at the report in his hand. Whatever team was on patrol, they were going to have their hands full. When Giles had finished his explanation of school requirements, he found his time to enter. 

"Sorry to interrupt." He said confidently entering the room.

"This is Robin Wood, he is another Assistant Director here." Giles introduced. "These are the Lawson's and their daughter Kristen."

"I'm glad to have you here." He greeted shaking their hands. "I just need to borrow my colleagues for a moment."

"You're working over the Holiday's, Mr. Wood?" Yvonne asked kindly.

"I try not to, but some things can't wait." He handed Giles and Fiona the file and they began to read it quickly. "I was going to put Addison in charge of it." 

"Yes, its her area. Go ahead." Giles said handing him back the file. Fiona nodded in agreement. "We are just about to began the tour, of the school, would you care to join us?"

"I would love to, but I still have some work I have to finish." He gave a smile. "I'll try to catch up with you later." He began to head out the door as the rest rose from they're seats to began to tour. Her turned around just as he opened the door. "Have you scene Ms. Heatherly around?"

"She was heading to her room, the last time I saw her." Giles told him and Robin nodded and exited the room. Giles turned back to the group, who were now standing and waiting for direction. "Well shall we go on then."

Mr. Lawson stayed at Fiona side, annoying his daughter by beginning to playfully flirt with her. Yvonne didn't notice as she was paying close attention to what Giles had to say. Kristen looked like she wanted to die. Once they passed the main staircase Giles stop them at the crossroads. "To the left we have the Staff wing. First floor are the administrative offices and teachers offices. The Staff quarters are all the way at the other end and on the second and third floors. To the right we have the students common rooms and dorms. The classrooms are down this hallway," pointing in front of them. "We will began our tour there." They began down the classroom hallway not noticing the group entering the main door. 

Willow and Kennedy told the girls to quiet down when they entered the main hallway to see the Lawson going on their tour. When they were out of sight, Willow turned to them to give them a pep talk as they took off they're heavy winter coats. "Now remember, please watch what things you girls say." She said as the five Slayers she and Kennedy had taken into town began to grumble. 

"Like we're not used to it already." Said Vi, as she barely managed to dangle of her bags from her arms, a sour expression on her face. The redheaded slayer was already in a bad mood. She had missed Christmas last year with her family because of the First and this year they were wary of her coming home. A bringer had almost killed her sister, when looking for her after her Watcher sent her to Sunnydale. Her parents knew she was a Slayer and what that meant and Vi decided that she should probably stay away for a while, to protect them. It was her decision but she was annoyed that they hadn't tried to change her mind.

Willow shook her head. "I know you know. But not all of you guys listen all the time, so I've learned if I get all remindy, you listen." She helped her with her bags until she was good to go on her own. "We don't want any of you scaring them off," she joked giving Kennedy a flirty smile. Kennedy weakly returned it. All the girls agreed to be on best behavior and took there bags off to their rooms. "Remember, your all invited to light the candles. It just before dinner." She called of to the girls.

Willow looked back at Kennedy and gave her best Willow smile. "You look happy today." They started on their own way through the halls. 

"And you don't?" Willow asked with the meek "hoping-the-answer-to-this-is-different-then-what-I-think" tone.

"I'm alright." She said, keeping her mental distance from Willow.

"Are you still upset about that, binding thing?" She held her breath. "I didn't mean to hurt you, it's just I thought you were the only one who could handle it…" she started to babble but Kennedy stopped her by putting a hand on her bicep. 

Kennedy looked as if she was going to say something but retreated and made then continue on their way again. Willow stopped outside of the office she shared with Bridget and Curtis. "I thought we were gonna go upstairs?" Kennedy asked disappointed. 

"I just need to check our messages. I'm the only one in the office this week. Curt and Brig are on out." She said slipping into her office quickly. Kennedy stood there, here annoyance raised to another bar. She wanted to go upstairs with Willow to talk. Willow never wanted to talk anymore. She sighed and began to climb the stairs to their room. 

Kennedy had almost forgotten that she had been raised in this house. There were never this many people in it really, it was almost unrecognizable. She looked down at her feet as she walked. She had lost so much confidence after the binding incident. She had felt so empty, all she ever wanted to do now was sleep. When she got to her door, she knew for certain she was going to crawl back into bed.

"Have you seen, Faith?" Robin asked, startling Kennedy. He was standing in Faith bedroom door, which was right next to hers. She shook her head and went into her room and shut the door.

Robin knew something was wrong with her but continued on his way to find Faith. She was having her own problems right now, and as her boyfriend he felt his duty was to her first. Well not really boyfriend, Faith would never say it. She had pages a colorful phrases to refer to him as her: fuck-buddy, bed-warmer and varies others that she had been scolded not to say in front of the students. Now if he could only find her. He wonder the school for a while searching through the staffrooms. He walked out and down the hall of the classrooms to get to the gym. 

Danielle and Tessa were coming in from there. He gave them a quick nod as they passed each other. The girls made they're way back to their dorm. "So, did you talk to Mark?" Tessa whispered to Danielle once Robin had left the area.

"Yeah, were meeting them after one." They laughed and giggled their way down to the hall.

'What the fuck is up with those two?' thought Faith as she kept to steps ahead of the tour group and Robin. She just wanted to be left alone. She went back up to her room. Robin wouldn't think to look for her there for at least another twenty minutes. She quickly went up the stairs. As she reached her door she stopped. The door next to hers was open and she could hear Willow and Kennedy fighting. She stopped for a moment and listened. It was the same argument as before. Kennedy felt violated, Willow tried to defend herself by putting her self down. Usually they were quieter, and fast but this fight had to have been going on for a while because Kennedy's voice was raised. Faith was caught off guard when Willow stormed out of the room without a word or acknowledgement of her presence. 

Willow only realized Faith was standing next to the door after she had flew by. She was also vaguely aware that Faith had gone in to talk to Kennedy after she left. Willow zipped down the stairs muttering to herself. She had been in such a good mood earlier, now all she wanted to do was destroy something. She held it all inside of her momentarily scaring herself went she imagined the building falling apart. She felt a little tremor and quickly got herself under control and closed her office door.

Vi saw Willow coming down the stairs and was about to run to her and ask a question. But Willow's body language said 'talk to me and die', so Vi went back to her room. It was on the third floor, almost like a tower, they decided to call it the senior dorm (even though they were not seniors), it had more privacy, five small single bedrooms surrounding one common room and bathroom. She shared it with Rona, Shannon, and Hortensia 'Ten'. The last room was vacant but Kristy Lawson will soon fill it. Vi looked around the common room. It was a combination of all their taste, it got kind of gaudy in some places but was better then the rec room, which the girls in double rooms had. It looked strange to her today though because it was it was clean, to clean. 

Her three roommates had gone home for break but had cleaned up before they left. Giles and Fiona were going to show this room during the tour and would be here soon. She realized that her shopping bags and her mess from the past couple days would not be looked on agreeably. She quickly moved it all into her room. She looked around her little room and took out her photo album. She missed her parents. She heard a knock on the outer door. She closed the door to her personal room and opened the common room door for the tour group.

"Good afternoon, Vi." Giles said looking in before letting the Lawson's enter. The room was all clear. "The Lawson's are here." Vi smiled shyly and moved back in the room not to get in the way. 

They filed in and Yvonne took the most positive interest in the room. Kristy looked on with disgust her room at home was much bigger then this. Her father was still talking to Fiona, and Fiona alone. Giles noticed as Fiona returned his comments with poise and smiles, Giles turned back to Yvonne. "This is Violet O'Bryne." Mrs. Lawson shook her hand and Giles went on about the room, "If you let Kristen come here this semester, she will be put in this suite." He showed her the room and Vi went to talk to Kristen.

"Violet." Kristy acknowledged and shook her hand, politely.

"Everybody calls me, Vi." She sighed.

"Kristy." 

"So you were recruited by Buffy, huh?" She said trying to make conversation.

"Yeah, what a loser, hanging out with someone who looks like he came out of the eighties." She groaned. 

"Well I'd like to take the Larson's on, Vi. If the Lawson's don't mined, why don't you show, Kristy around, on your own, maybe swing by and introduce her around." Fiona suggested, she turned to Yvonne.

"That sounds good, Kristy darling, go with Violet." She said leaving with Giles, Fiona and her husband. 

Kristy waited until her parents were gone and closed the door. "So what the hell is this place really like? Because if it's like 'Old Alfred' says, this place seriously blows." Kristy let out finally able to let her true self shine through. 

Vi let out a breath. "No. They trump this place up for the parents. Normal rules, a lot of Slayer training, and demon history. Giles isn't as stuck up as he seems, yeah he's a typical brit, and we have a bunch of them but he's great."

"Is he gonna be one of my teachers?" She asked warily.

"Not really, the only teachers a class for future watchers. He takes over sometimes." Vi offered then went on. "Are they gonna let you go here?" 

"With the snow-job 'Hall to the Queen' is given my mom and at that whore given' my dad the works, it's a shoe in. God, watching them flirt like that, its like watching an old people porno." She griped and looked around and her face squinted. "You live here, it's so small." 

Vi just rolled her eyes. "Well do you want me to show you around? The real tour." Kristen agreed and they went down the hallway and around the halls. Vi saw Kennedy hopping down the stairs a floor below them. 

Kennedy, now feeling better after she talked to Faith, went straight for Willow's office. She slowed as she got to the door, it was open and she waited after hearing more then just Willow voice from the office. She peered in hoping that the Lawson's would be out of there soon. She wanted to try to talk to Willow again without fighting. Willow was good with that in relationships because of her tendency to go over the deep end. Right now, she may have been mad at Willow, but she didn't want to lose her. When the Lawson's left the office Kennedy slipped into it.

Giles lead them back to the greeting room. "Well that's the end of the tour, I suspect your daughter will return to us shortly." He smiled.

Yvonne returned it and looked around the room. "I just wanted you to know that at this moment I am sure Kristy will be joining you for you for your Spring semester. This place seems like it would be good for her. You seem to understand how to teach a girl like her. Also it has been far to long has her studies been distracted by boys."

"It hasn't been that bad." Richard insisted. Yvonne just sighed and said no more. She would not start an argument in public.

Giles decided not to even let the moment rest and broke in, "Well, that's very good to hear." Giles explained to her what would be needed for  Kristy to enter and that they would talk to Robin after Kristy returned. 

The greeting room's door was open and anyone coming in from the front could be seen. As bad luck would have it the three Watchers in Training (Wit's) had just arrived home. They were talking and laughing carrying their bags. They had spent the whole day picking up gifts and could help but pester each other about what they got each other. "Come on, boy, lets get this to your room." Dawn said to Matt, after refusing to tell her his gift. 

"I thought this was an all girls school!" They heard an outraged women call from the greeting room. 

"Oh shit!" Dawn said quietly. Parents, she checked her watch, they got back to early. Matt started to hide behind Evan, who was oddly calm. Giles quickly went quiet and Fiona was thinking about what to say. 

The pregnant silence only last a moment because Evan grabbed Matt and Dawn hands and pulled them in with her into the room with the Lawsons. She went right up to Yvonne and Richard and looked them straight in the eyes as she spoke. "My name is Evanna Anderson, and this is Dawn Summers and that's Madeline Boyd. We nicknamed her 'Boy'." She smiles shaking both of their hands. 

"I'm sorry, Madeline. I thought you were a boy when you walked in. I guess it was just the haircut." Yvonne said shaking Matt's hand. Matt didn't speak just smiled. Yvonne greeted Dawn as well. Richard didn't say anything just let any embarrassment on his face fade like it never happened

Giles, Dawn and Matt were not sure what had just happened. Matt still looked like Matt, not a Madeline. Fiona however was giving death glares to Evan who was pretending she didn't notice. When, Giles,  Dawn and Matt noticed that Evan didn't break eye contact with the Lawson's they knew what happened. Giles began to share Fiona's nervousness.  It was the same thing Drusilla did to him years ago, showing him Jenny to get information. He knew that by Fiona's wariness, that Evan didn't have to much practice in it. 

"Girls please take your bags to your rooms, I don't want you leaving them in the halls." Fiona said giving them a quick out. 

"If you'd excuse us." Dawn said as they almost bolted out of the room just as Kristy and Vi came into the room. The watcher trio had there backs to the Lawson's and when Vi looked at there faces she knew she was to go along with whatever was going on. 

"Kristy, meet these three lovely girls, Dawn, Evanna, and Madeline." Yvonne said. 

"Girls?" Kristy looked like she was about to laugh. "One of them's-" she was cut off when Vi jammed her side, out of sight of anyone's notice. "oh, yeah girls, nice to meet you." She faked and quickly went to her parents. 

"See you later, Vi." Evan said grabbing the bags, quickly moving out of sight in the hall. They ran and didn't stop until they were at the staff wing. They ran inside of Willow's office. 

They didn't notice Willow's and Kennedy's make up embrace until they had closed the office door. "Hey," Willow said, breaking the hug, "why'd you bust in here?" Then her eyes widened as they told her what happened. "Why didn't you just say he was a visiting brother."

"I didn't think of that." Evan said and started to laugh, as did Dawn and even Matt.

            "Well I better go make sure it worked." Willow sighed and waited for Kennedy to come with her. They left the room together. 

            "I can't believe you named me, Madeline Boyd." They heard Matt say as they walked on. When they got to the Lawson's they were preparing to leave and we fooled by the false front Evan had created. They were also being quite satisfied with the school. Vi waited for them to go, to be polite. Richard kissed Fiona's hand to say goodbye then join his family at the door. 

As Vi opened the front door for them to leave she was given quite a shock herself. "Daddy!" She screamed like a little girl, jumping into her fathers arms. Her mom, and her little brother and sister were there too. Willow smiled, this was just what Vi needed to be cheered up.

"You didn't think we wouldn't be with you for Christmas did you?" Her mother said hugging her. 

Robin arrived and inform the group by the door that they had called ahead and were more them welcome to come and pick her up for the family trip up to Maine to see her Grandmother. Vi took her whole family with her up to her room so she could pack a bag for the family trip to Maine. 

The Lawson's put on their coats and got back in their car. As they drove off a sigh of relief went through the school. "I say next time we just tell them the truth and take them vamp hunting." Fiona said taking off her shoes. 

"Oh I agree." Giles said laughing.

"Willow!" Faith called as she came up to them. 

"Hey, Fay." Robin said to her, "I've been missing you all afternoon." He reached a hand out to put on her shoulder.

"Yeah, sorry, but I need to talk to Willow now." Faith insisted, dodging to not let him touch her.

"What is it?" Willow asked going to her.

Faith looked around at the other faces in the room. "Could I talk to you-_privately?" _

Willow nodded, "Yeah," she turned to Giles.  "If you'll excuse me." 

Faith took Willow's arm and pulled her into the foyer room which was to the right of the hall.  The two girls walked into a study which was connected to the foyer room by an arch.  This is where the girls liked to hang out and study.  

They both stopped and stood in the middle of the room.  Faith's eyes were shadowed and gloomy. 

"What's wrong?" Willow asked her.  She knew when Faith had something on her mind.  "What happened?"

Faith sat down on a nearby couch and Willow sat beside her.  "I don't deserve this." Faith said moving her hands up and down her own sleeveless arms.  "Take it away."

"What?" Willow said, not understanding.

Faith was shivering.  "Take away my power."

*********

            Night had fallen over the school, but for this school it didn't mean to much. For most one a.m. was the same as one p.m., most were still awake. Robin had gotten information about a nest a vampires gathering in the school. They didn't know it but they are naturally attracted to the Slayers as they were drawn to the hellmouths.  Addison lead her team of slayers team "SG-Slayers", down the road to hunt for the nest. Addison knew the location but the girls needed to learn to use they're skills to hunt. When they go out into the world they won't always have someone telling them what to do and were to go. She stood a few feet behind watching her team in action.

            Samantha was taking the lead, she was the oldest, twenty and wasn't actually a student at the school. She was a sophomore at University of Minnesota and agree to go for a quick training session over break. She didn't have any idea was Slayer was when they found her but her parents had known. They hadn't believe the watcher who came to them, but when she came home at the end of her first year at school, they realized what she became had help the school locate her after they began to contact all the previously found potentials. She was learning quickly and everyone was impressed with her progress.

            "Quiet." She said to Sybil and Haley, who were whispering to each other. She needed to keep her focus to pick them up. Their skills weren't bad but they were thirteen and fourteen and lacked the proper discipline. They didn't get that the whole slayer gig was not a game yet.

Jacey, however, the fifteen year-old, did. She was good however very stubborn  and asked a lot a questions. She came mid semester and shook things up, that the rest had taken for granted. No one had really found out why holy water and crosses warded of vamps, because vamps were around long before those religion were created and why Willow would sometimes have a cross with her because she was Jewish too. Finally they all got fed up with her and made it her project to research the topic herself and write a paper on it. Even though Willow was fed up with her, Willow still remained her favorite teacher.

Samantha stop, and the girls stopped with her. They each took their positions and  formed a circle. They each had to search their own area. It was the hope that no slayer would be on they're own after they graduated, so they needed to learn how to work as teams. They looked like animals searching and sniffing the air. Addison stayed back, smiling, they were close to the nest know. Silently, Jacey nudged them and pointed in the direction she was looking in. There was an old abandon house of the side of the rode. All the girls turned and they could sense them, death was in the air. They nodded and took they're stakes out of there heavy winter coats. They turned to Addison to see her nodding and smiling. They turned back to look at the house. Since Jacey found the house, she had the honor of starting the count down. "1… 2…3!" She said as they bolted to the house across the street, kicked in the door and rushed in for the attack.

Addison crossed at her own pace, continuing to smile after them. 'Those vamps aren't gonna know what hit them.' She thought as she waited for her girls on the porch.

Xander and Sophie drove past the old house down the road from the school. They didn't notice Addison on the porch cause they busy arguing with one another. "…How can you say that?!" Xander exclaimed from the drivers seat.

"Very easily." Sophie said coyly. 

"But it's not true!" he exclaimed again.

"It's my truth!" she said getting even angrier.

"It just can't be, Kirk was so much better than Sisco! Heck even Picard was a better Captain than Sisco!"

"Oh, no they weren't he was the best okay, Kirk was an oversexed prick who cared more about 'his ship' than the crew and Picard could even hold down a long-term relationship. Sisco was a Captain, a good father, the Emissary and he through his girlfriend imprison and she came back and married him!" She said and they both broke out in laughter.

Xander was having a great time. She wasn't a Star Trek fan when she came to the school but he had shown her the DVD that were coming out and got her and Fiona hooked, and a bunch of the girls hooked. They liked 'Deep Space Nine' the best. Probably cause it dealt a lot with mystical and spiritual roles and destinies. It hit close to home. She was the best date he ever had. She hadn't tried to kill him. He knew exactly what she was and she was a Trekker (Trekker= Star Trek fans like Andrew know every word, and have ship diagrams; Trekker, never misses an episode, likes to talk about it, but doesn't know how many rows of buttons are on the security consul). Xander smiled, as they pulled into past the gate, just cause they were back didn't mean the date was over.

Andrew saw the headlights from Xander's car through front windows. He continued his march though out the school. He called it a patrol but he was hoping someone was around to watch a movie with. He was lonely and Clem had decided to visit his sister and her offspring in Topeka for the holiday. He wished it wasn't a holiday, there was always someone around to be with otherwise. He would try the library, usually someone was in there. Walked along the staff offices and heard voices coming from Robin's office. He stopped near the door, so he could eavesdrop. He knew there was something going on they weren't telling him about. He suspected it had something to do with Faith or Willow. As he listen in and only heard Faith's voice, she one the telephone. He hear someone behind him and moved on because he didn't want to be caught.

In fact there was no one behind him cause if there was Faith would have noticed. She was on the phone and was not to engrossed in her conversation to know that Andrew had stopped by the door for a moment. "Angel, I hear what you're saying, but it's doesn't matter, I need to be punished not redeemed. I can do that without the power." She argued. Angel kept going on and she rolled her eyes as he went on about responsibly. She sat up straight. "No I did not role my eyes!" she had just about had enough, she was shocked when Giles told her she should call him. God knows why she actually listened. "You know, I think I had enough. I made my decision. Thanks for your help." She hung up the phone and ran her hands over her face and through her hair. Why couldn't everyone just leave her alone.

She got up and left the office. The first thing she saw was the newest cute couple heading up the stairs and turned the other way. She was not gonna run into them tonight. She turned tail and went up the other way.

Sophie latched onto Xander armed the moment they had entered the building. Her snuggling up to him all night didn't go unnoticed, he was about ready to pop the way she kept touching him. "It's getting late, maybe I should walk you to your door?" 

She gave him a smiled and nodded. They stopped next to her door and Xander waited and look like he was debating whether to kiss her or not. "Well." She said demanding after a a long pause.

"I wasn't-" He managed to say before her lips began to assault on his. His arms instructively wrapped around her, pulling her to him. She pulled back and looked him in the eyes.

"Okay?" she asked licking her lips.

"Are you kidding me?" This time him starting the kiss, gently pushing her against the wall as he deepened the kiss. Like any good make out sessions hands began to roam and explore, nothing that was too inappropriate for the hall at night. All four hands where still visible. They continued to kiss until they were snapped out of their little word, by door closing and gasp. They immediately looked in the direction of the noise. Fiona was standing at one of the doors, not her own, clad in an oversize dress shirt.

            Fiona looked at them, shocked. It took Sophie and Xander a moment to realize that the reason she looked so horror stricken wasn't because she saw them making-out. but was because she herself was in a predicament she did not want to get caught in. "What are you doing," Sophie began  to asked pulling Xander with her to where Fiona was standing, "outside of Ripper's door?" Sophie looked at the shirt more closely. "In his shirt?" she raised an eyebrow.

            Xander quickly looked at both of them, and the dots connected for him. "Oh!"

            "Oh, nothing." She said to him trying to say it like she had nothing to hide, unsuccessfully. 

            "Right," Sophie said, "The shirt?"

            "We were drinking and I spilled." She said nonchalantly, giving Sophie a smile. "Ripper was kind enough to lend me a shirt."

            Raised her eyebrow again and looked at her again. "And I pair of his undies?" Looking at the pair of boxers.

            "What?" Xander said, to himself, but was not lost on the women.

            "Stop it, Soph, you're scaring the boy." Fiona said now not caring that she was improperly dressed for the hall.

            "Well it's not like you haven't been flirting with him since you met." Sophie assured her.

            "No I didn't." She insisted.

            "Just cause you insist something is true doesn't make it that way." Sophie joked. Xander locked himself in his own world, trying to forget the image of Giles having sex out of his mind.

            "Fine, then if I was flirting with him then, then you were with my brother." Fiona went on the offensive. Sophie and Ona taunted each other for a moment more and Xander pretended he wasn't there.

            "Willow!" Jacey called with excitement running through the staff hallway. She ran and slid into Willows door, down the hall from Fiona, Sophie and Xander. Jacey was so excited as she rapped on Willows door. Addison, followed down Jacey's path attempting and failing to stop her.

            The young slayer jumped back when the door opened abruptly. Willow hastily opened the door and glared at the slayer. Willow looked disheveled, her pail green robe thrown quickly over her body, her hair was unruly, red strands fell in front of her eyes. Her pale skin was flushed pink. "What's wrong?" asked harshly and confused. She looked up and saw the others in the hall. Giles had stumbled out of his chamber, dressed in his robe as well.

            The look on Willow's face did not hindered by her teacher's reaction. "Guess what, guess what I got six of them on my own…" Jacey babbled on about her experience during the hunt. Addison moved closer to Jacey and put a hand on her shoulder. Jacey quieted down, and looked embarrassed. 

            "I'm sorry, Willow." Addison said sympathetically, feeling embarrassed herself, to let this happen. "I told her no but she ran right past me..." Addison tried to explain. 

            "It's okay," Willow told her then looked down at the 15 year-old, "We will talk about this tomorrow." She said to the girl. "Go to bed." She said sternly about to turn back into her room.

            "Sorry, to wake you up." Jacey said as Addison lead her back down the hall. 

            "It wasn't my sleep you interrupt-" She cut her self off. "Goodnight." She called and went back in her room and closed the door. Addison gave Jacey a little talking to about going into the staff wing without reason, and the foursome of Giles, Fiona, Xander and Sophie remained in the hall. 

            "What was going on?" Giles asked rubbing his eyes, well sleepy and slightly inebriated, "What the devil woke me up?" Fiona gave him a look and nudged him, he realized and pulled his robe together tightly. Sophie then opened her mouth to tell him when Willow's door burst open again. 

            Willow walked out quickly and close the door behind her. She seemed even more irritated then before. "Damn, what a mood killer!" She groaned going over to Xander. She crossed her arms. "You'd think that girl would have more sense than-" Her gaze left Xander and went to everyone else as she had spoke, she saw Fiona and Giles and was started into stopping. The idea came to her instantly. "Oh my goddess." Willow said staring at Giles, who was desperately wishing his robe made him invisible and Fiona just sighed. 

Sophie started laughing. "Yes, yes. But you'll never get a word out of them."

Willow went to Xander's side, and whispered, "I didn't even know they were dating?" 

"You think I knew?" Xander shrugged and looked down at her. His gaze froze a minute and quickly spoke again, "Uh, Will, robe." He said quickly looking away.

Willow looked down as everybody looked over. She quickly fixed her robe which had began to show too much of her chest as she had marched over here. She turned back to Fiona and Giles. "So how long have the two of you been…going on?"

Fiona cocked her head and "Hmm?" and Giles did the same head tilt but said "What?" instead. Willow got confused.

"Oh you see, I believe may dearest best friend and my kind of brother are under the impression that if they don't admit to something, it never happened or that if they stay in denial long enough, we'll start to believe them."

"Sophie!" Ona scolded.

"What? Your first story fell through. Unless, Giles, did she really lose at strip poker?" Sophie played with them.

"Yes." Giles said with distinction. Fiona barred her face in her hands with a laugh. "What?" he turned to her. 

"She said something about her spilling on her other cloth-" Fiona didn't let Sophie and she bumped past her heading to her room.

"Leave, him alone and continue snogging with Xander in the hallway." She called reaching her door. Sophie turned to look uncomfortable when Giles through his semi drunken haze gave her his own inquisitive look. Willow started to laugh.

Sophie whispered to Xander, "I think the mood is killed for the night." She said.

Xander, who was to ill at ease that he could look at Giles, turned to Willow. "Like you weren't in there having hot Witch-on-Slayer sex, when you were interrupted." 

"Hey!"

"Enough!" Giles moaned, then paused, "Would any of you like a drink?" he said hopefully going back in his room to get the bottle he and Fiona had opened. He had just assumed they had nodded. He poured glasses for all of them and brought it to them outside his door. He took them all to the little seating area in the end of the hall. There was nothing better to bring on his denial better then another drink.

They all sat down and took a swing, as Fiona came back. Now with her own deep blue robe around her, stole Giles' glass. Annoyed he went in for another one. This time he brought the bottle and filled up the glasses again. 

"What's on tap for tomorrow?" Sophie asked, as Giles' pour more of the amber liquid in her glass. 

"My de-Slayering of Faith." Willow said grudgingly. They all nodded. Willow took another gulp and then another. They all remained there, and discuss the day, as lightly as they could. 

It came around to Willows turn, this time as she spoke she started to sway. "And it really sucks to all day Kennedy and I have been fighting," she said in her drunken way, "I finally got her to do it and she gets out of the mood and doesn't want to get back in it, 'cuz slayer junior shows up." Xander pats her on the shoulder kindly. Giles was to out of it to be concerned about his surrogate daughter talking about her sex life, especially with Ona lying across his lap.

"Relationships bite!" She moaned and gulped another glass, she laughed, "Bites!" Laugh, "Oz!", she turned to Xander, "I haven't seen him in while. He used to bite."

"And that's your cut off point, Will." Xander said getting up, pulling her with him. "Off to bed with you, remember what happened last time you drank." He lean over and gave Sophie a chaste goodnight kiss, the alcohol made him no longer embarrassed in front of Giles. He straightened up and went to help Willow go back to her room.

"Yeah," she smiled wide. "I made Giles blind, Buffy and Spikey get engaged, and you," she pointed a finger at his chest and poked him, "were a demon magnate." She laughed again.

"Exactly," He pulled her down the hall to hear room. "No magic!" he said sternly.

"Do you think the engagement spell is why Spike fell in love with her?" was the last thing the remaining three heard from her. 

            "You like Xander?" Giles asked, looking at Sophie. She nodded, which made raises his eyebrows. "Fine, I approve." He said as he yawned.

            "'Cause I always look for you're approval." Sophie said mockingly. 

            Addison came rushing back into the staff corridor. "Can you three come with me?" She said, and they immediately got up and quickly followed her down the hall. 

            "What's going on?" Giles asked as they moved first floor dorms.

            "Boys." Addison said simply. They were puzzled, she knew they had been drinking and elaborated. "I heard boys voices when I took Jacey to her room." Addison took them down to the rec-room. They could hear girls voices and loud music. "I needed back up. I think they need to be scared."

            Fiona nodded. Sophie and Giles hung back. Fiona and Addison stood outside the door. Fiona started to count down from three on her fingers and one, zero kicked open the door. They stop the five partying girls and the six guys that were with them. They froze, the boys that tried to run for it were stopped by Giles and Sophie in the halls. The girls knew better then to run. 

            "Well look what we have here." Addison said walking into the room. Fiona followed her. The walk around making note of who was there. Some where caught in less then kosher positions. Fiona turned of the music. "Boys to the left!" Addison called in her shrillest voice, "Girls to the right!" They did so immediately.

            Fiona looked the girls up and down. "Who?" was all she asked them. Danielle and Tessa were given up within second. "Alright, Danni, Tess. Directors office now! Go straight there. He will be in, in a minute." she pointed them out. She knew Giles would need to get dressed before having his conference with the girls, but they would wait they looked petrified. "The rest of you go to your rooms. We'll be checking on you, in a few minutes." As the girls slinked out, Sophie brought back the to escaped boys. Fiona sent her to get the other male teachers. The boys lined up and Fiona and Addison paces along there line as they felt dread. They got all they're names and phone numbers and had Andrew and Robin call they're parents to be picked up. 

            In one big group the boys where picked up. They had threatened to call the police and have their sons arrested for trespassing. They came immediately. Addison and Fiona waited in the foyer. Robin was much more skilled with this and they were glad they woke him. He was much scarier to the boys cause he knew how to run a public school. They had check on and scolded the girls, punishments would be decided tomorrow. Danni and Tess had gone off to bed too.

            Addison rubbed her temples in exhaustion. She and Fiona were leaning on the same wall. "I'm getting to old for this." Addison muttered to Fiona. "This type of shit is why I left the Academy." She looked over at Fiona. "Not that I didn't want girls to be admitted, I just missed the admission change but do you know how many times I had to caught those children, and then have to teach them the next day. I don't remember being like this when I was in school."

            "Oh," Fiona said looking away. "I never even went to school remember. The only boy I knew was Brian and any watcher's son dad thought I should date." There was silence again. "How did the hunt go, by the way?"

            "Good, they were done in less then two minutes with the slaying part. They younger ones had trouble focusing, but Jacey is coming around and Samantha is doing more than expected for such a short time."

            "Good." Fiona yawn. "We need to think of a new punishment-"   

            "-that makes then never do this again!" Addison joined in to have her complete the sense. They turned to each other and spoke in unison again, "Did we just agree on something?"

*************

            In the morning Willow took Faith down to the vault. Willow was grateful Xander took care of her last night, making sure that she drank plenty of water so she wouldn't get a big hangover. She was only mildly out of it but it was more her task at hand then her drink last night. She can't believe Giles was the one who passed out the drinks. 

            Faith followed Willow into the room where she would be working her mojo. Faith looked around the room as Willow opened the safe. Faith was allowed in here, but was in here before now. She looked at the weapons and picked up the sword closest to her. It was beautiful and shining, looks like it had never been used.

            "I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Willow warned, turning around scythe in hand. 

            Faith carefully set it back in it's place. "Why not? Carry some curse or somethin'?"

            "No, Giles will just be pissed, it's his favorite." Willow gave he a smile, than sat down in the middle of the room. Faith just stared down at her for a second. "Sit." Willow commanded, "I need to make the circle around both of us." 

            Faith complied and sat down facing Willow. "I thought you could do this from anywhere, why do I have to be down here?" Faith asked grudgingly.

            "Hold this for a sec." Willow said handing Faith the scythe, so she could created the circle. When Faith took the weapon,  and Willow answered her question. "Because if you're with me it will be easier, because I won't have to find you. That part is the hardest and starting to give me a headache.

            Faith nodded, but she was to distracted by the object in her hands. It was hers, was what her body and soul were telling her but her mind kept reminding her that it would not be for long. 

            Willow spread the sand around them. "Are you sure you want to do this?" Willow asked. 

            "I am as sure as I'll ever be." Faith said. Willow looked up at her and started to open her mouth to speak but was cut off by Faith. "Look I heard it before, Red. They all talked to me. Giles said maybe I should wait longer. Angel was all saying I had given up. Xander even tried to talk me out of it. He says I'll be more of a help with my power, but he doesn't get it, no one does, I'm a danger to everyone also long as I have this power, no one gets it!"

            "Hey, remember, girlfriend-shot-killed-a-guy-tried-to-end-the-world?" Willow said in her own blunt way. Faith just glared at her, Willow shrug, "You we had a whole conversation about that on our way back from L.A. didn't we? But what I have to say should carry more wait then the rest of them." She ripped the scythe from Faith's hands. "You know that feeling you got. If felt like a small part of you was taken away, think of what it's gonna feel like when in gets ripped out of you." Willow said calmly.

            "I talked to Kennedy." Was all Faith said looking away. "This will be my ultimate punishment for what I've done!"

            "Punishment? Are you kidding me, it's the cop out, Hon." Willow said getting stronger, channeling all the conversations she had with Giles last summer. "It's giving up. You won't have much expected of you anymore, you'll be able to go hey, 'I'm not a slayer anymore, no more destiny' well that just means your giving up."

            "Like you didn't wish ever they could take the magic away from you, so you couldn't hurt anyone else! Tell me sometimes when you look at what your doing long for them to take it away…" She faded out cause the next line coming to her was 'wish one day you could just let your temper get the better of ya'. She stopped and just stared into Willow's eyes.

            "I can't say that, but that still doesn't mean we're right. People like us have to think live with that. The feeling we can never let our guards down. We need to stay in control, that's our price. If we can't do the time, we have to do the time ourselves. Both of us should be locked away right now but were not. They can't take away my magic, we won't be getting rid of Angel's soul, and you should not give up what you are either!" Willow said, not out of breath.

            "Yeah, well I'm the least controllable aren't I? Angel knows how to keep his soul, hopefully by now. You know what to do to say away from dark magic, but I'm out there fighting everyday. I am at that line, and always will be. I have to go out there fighting every night, just the way I did when I killed that guy. My redemption and my dark side are smack up against each other." Faith tried to get up but Willow anchored her back down.

            "Don't break the circle."  Willow commanded, Faith reluctantly sat back down.

            "Well are you actually going to do your thing or what?" Faith said huffily.

            "Only if you're sure." Willow said after a short pause. She stopped trying to argue. "I don't know if I can reverse it. You bond, well yours and Buffy bond to your slayerhood is different then the other girls. Stronger. I don't know what will happen when I break it.

            "Red, this is what I want. It's what I need. I need to take the risk." She said intensely pointing at herself. "I need it taken away." 

            Willow looked into her eyes and knew there is something she wasn't telling her. "What happened?" Willow asked. 

            "Nothing, just get on with it!" Faith nearly screamed to end the conversation.

            "Fine." Willow said losing sympathy for Faith. Willow took a deep breath and held the scythe out between the two of them.

            "Do I do anything?"

            Willow took several more breaths, concentrating on her task. "Grab onto it." Faith nodded and complied placing her hands on either side of Willows. 

            "I've never done this, this way, so it might get a little strange." Willow warned.

            Faith tightened her hands on the weapon and felt a little light headed, as her mind started to fade into an orange glow all around her. The room was now tinted with color. She looked down at her hands, they were blue. She took a deep breath, this was it.

**********

Giles was alone in his office putting together the housing for the girls in the next semester. If admittion continued at this rate they'd need another dorm. He would bring it up again at the next Council meeting.

"How are you feeling, Ripper?" Fiona asked from behind him. 

He turned around with a small smile. "A slight hung over, but can't recall the details of the conversation with Xander and Willow, which I believe I should be grateful for." He smiled at her when he turned around. 

"I'm really liking this Slayer recovery thing, I feel great this morning." She smiled, and then went into other conversation. Giles knew, she didn't want to talk about relationships, she never had. Giles didn't mind, Sophie did enough talking for the both of them. She helped him with his work and then a companied him to the buliton board in the main hall to post the patrolling assignments. She took a pin and tacked one of the papers up.

"So last night?" she said the minute they were cast in silence. Giles turned to her in surprise. She had humor in her eye. "You'd think you'd be up for doing it again?" she managed to say as causally as if she was asking him to tea.

He smiled and finished putting up the last of the papers. "I don't see why not." 

Robin seemed frustrated when he entered the hall. He went to the board to see what Fiona and Giles had posted. "Have you heard from Faith yet?" Fiona asked him.

"No, but that's not really a big surprise, she doesn't talk to me much." He seemed more annoyed then usual, but who wouldn't be, Faith wouldn't even acknowledge him lately. She had made no attempt to talk to him after her plan was announced. 

Giles to change the subject brought up the idea of an addition onto the school. Robin nodded and listened grateful for the distraction. When out of nowhere Faith rushed past them, almost registered as nothing more then a blur. They blinked not sure if they had actually seen her, but when they saw will slowly running they knew it had to have been.

"What happened?" Asked Robin.

Willow, slightly out of breath and looking upset, explained, "It didn't work, I could bind her. She ran off before I could say anything." Robin looked back in the direction Faith went on and her followed her not waiting to hear the whole story from Willow.

"…When I was in the dimension I saw her with me. I knew her connection was stronger then the others, so I took her with me. I had to go deep into her line of power and I couldn't do it, I could cut the string."

"I thought you said it was like the 'will it be' spell?" Giles asked.

"Oh, I could do it, but it would effect the others. I had to go closer then before I realized that the Slayer power went through both her and Buffy's… strings. The way I cut off the power can't be severed because it would cut off the other girls too. So I tried putting a blocker between her and the line but it wouldn't take. I think it's because she was actually divinely called. She was the last true slayer."

"I guess she didn't take it well." Giles said looking up at the ceiling, pretending her could see through to the upstairs.

"Not at all."

*********

            Faith started throwing things into her bag. She needed to get out, she needed to leave. She had to get out. She threw some shirt in and started to lose it punching her fist through the door.

            "Where are you going?" Robin asked solemnly.

            "Anywhere but here." She said barely noticing the blood on her knuckles, it didn't matter, nothing matter. She stood over her bag intending to pack but just stopped moving. 

            "Oh that's the mature thing to do runaway, again."

            "God, what do you want from me? You always want more, more then I can give you. This is me take it ore leave it."

            "I don't accept that."

            "Your such a bastard, ya know. Just leave me alone."

            "No about to. I know you want to tell me or you wouldn't be trying to push me with words, you'd actually just walk right out of here."

            "I'm about too."

            "But you would have done it already."

            Faith picked up her bag and threw it back down. "God your annoying. What do you want to hear?" she softened a bit.

            "I want to know what happen, what happened to make you want to give up being the Slayer.

            There was a long silence, she need to know where to began. "It was when I was in North Carolina." She finally said choking up a bit, "That girl-" she corrected herself, "Slayer, Yasmin, she didn't really believe that anything had change, the new council, when I went to talk to her she just blew me off, I didn't realize that she was watcher trained at the time. I kept trying to talk to her, for some reason, for the first time in my life I was persistent. I kept following her. That girl had better stealth training then me and she managed to ambush me in an ally. I think she might of thought I was a vamp or something. When I tried to tell her she just kept hitting me so I started to fight back." She was silent for a moment. "I was trying to get her to listen to me, she wouldn't. I lost control, the minute I started the upper hand I just kept going." She paused again and turned around to look at him. "When I finally got control back I realized I broke her arm and a couple of ribs. I was over her, and looked into her eyes, she was scared of me. She looked at me the way that Professor looked at me. How could I have gone that far again?" She turned away.

            "But you didn't, Faith." He said calmly.

            "I knew you'd be nothing but supportive." She was disappointed.

            "Is that a bad thing?"

            "Yeah, 'cause I'm out of control, I don't need to support, I need to be stopped." She was holding a back her tears.

            "But your not out of control. Yeah you lost it for a couple of second but you stopped yourself, no one else did. You can't judge yourself on what you could have, might have done."

He paused before going on, "You would get nothing but my support for that. You just gotta snap out of this 'I'm not good enough', you are. You always were, that's why you were chosen. You were the last 'Chosen' slayer. That's got to mean something to you."

            "It did, but I was never the Slayer, I was the other slayer."

            "You know, how sick I am of hearing you say that, just get over it already." He went to her and put a hand on her shoulder. "your to good for it."

            "Thanks." She said sounding better. She swallowed and just stood there, Robin had expected Faith to remove his hand from her shoulder but she let it stay. Maybe he was actually getting through.

            She turned around and she hug him. He wrapped his arms around her.

            A few minutes later Faith was back to packing. She closed up her bag and rested the strap over her shoulder. "I think I just need to get away for a while, clear my head a bit." She smirked and went to the door.

            "Where do you think you'll go?" Robin asked hopefully.

            "Don't know, probably just to the city for a couple days maybe head over to the new Hellmouth." She shrugged, "They might need a hand."

            "Do you think you'll be coming back?"

            She stood by the door, hand on the knob. She looked at him trying to let the little spark he had found in her shine through. "Is there a reason why I shouldn't?" He shook his head, no. "Good." She walked out. 

End Chapter Six.


	8. Chapter Seven: Brand Spanking’ New Hellm...

_Chapter 7: Brand Spanking' New Hellmouth_

Buffy had bought a car upon leaving Chicago.  She felt that she needed a new one since her Jeep was destroyed, and she had the money due to the insurance that was collected in the disaster.  It was a nice car, a navy blue Nissan 03 Altima (could change), it would get her around.  It was much easier than bus hopping, and she could stop anywhere she pleased.  Buffy was heading toward Cleveland, which was the new tourist attraction of everything evil.  It wasn't a Hellmouth, before it was more of a hellnose. She was heading there to see everything that was going on.  The slayers there and the exact location of the Hellmouth.  Buffy didn't expect the Hellmouth to open for business so soon, it had doubled in mystical intensity since the destruction of the one in Sunnydale and was now replacing it. The First probably had this area for a backup plan.  Cleveland always had a high demon activity; it was a perfect hotspot for a new Hellmouth.  

            Buffy was told that there were a few adult Slayers that were guarding the Hellmouth. They were trained and ready to protect the world. She wanted to talk to them about the operation, to make sure they stopped anything that made a visit, like so many times that Sunnydale had a Big Bad.  Buffy had stopped the world from ending so many times.  Now there were more of her, hypothetically, to stop the evils.  She felt very secure about the new situation; now the growth of demonic activity will simmer much, much faster.  Once the girls from the school, and more schools to come, graduate; they will be sent to different areas of the world to protect.  It was like a dream, Buffy thought. 

            As she drove down (enter highway/interstate) she thought of what happened in Chicago.  She had a great time.  Buffy knew what she did was wrong though.  She went in over her head again.  Yet, she started to feel like Parker, the arrogant asshole that had used her.   Buffy used Spike and now Pike.  But with Pike it was different.  She couldn't quite put her finger on it though.  She felt something with Pike that she hadn't felt in a long time.  Buffy looked in her rear view mirror and she saw that a tear rolled down her cheek.  She wiped it off as she saw the sign "CLEVELAND NEXT EXIT"

            Buffy had been driving for most the day since she left Chicago.  She entered the city and decided to pull over.  She took out an address book out of her purse and looked up a name.  Jennifer Daniels.  And dialed her number from her cell phone.

            "Hello?" Buffy said into the phone, "This is Buffy Summers,"

            "Ms. Summers, great to hear from you." Jennifer said.  "Are you in town?"

            Buffy replied, "Yes, I just got here, where should I meet you?"

            Jennifer paused, "The Hellmouth.  Its underneath Jacobs Field Stadium."

            "No way!" Buffy exclaimed.  "Under the Cleveland Indian's Stadium?"

            "Yes, we will talk more once you get here." She said.  "See you in a little bit." Jennifer hung up.

            Buffy closed her cell phone and put it and the book into her purse.  She took out a map.  "Jacobs Field."

************************  
  
            Pike's motorcycle had broken down on route eighty heading to Cleveland.  He was stuck.  He pushed his bike to an emergency telephone on the highway and dialed information for a tow truck.  He was halfway to Cleveland, and he needed a way to get to Buffy.  

            Pike drove with the tow truck driver as they entered Toledo.  Still far away from where he wanted to go.  The drive with the strange truck driver was an interesting experience.  He kept looking at Pike as he sat next to him in the passenger's seat.  He cursed himself in his head for following Buffy again.  

            "Thanks," Pike said as he got off his truck.  He saw his motorcycle being moved into the garage of the auto body shop.  Pike knew it would be a long time until he would hear news on his bike.  Pike went to talk to the auto body shop mechanic. 

            "Sir, I really need to be getting on my way, so please try to tell me what you can do for the bike as soon as you can."

            "Ah'll take a quick look now," the man said.  He had red curly hair and a beard, he was wearing overalls with a plaid red shirt underneath.  He led Pike to the garage, where Pike saw his motorcycle.  A few minutes passed as the mechanic looked thoroughly at his bike.

            "Just what I thought, your bike will need a pretty penny to fix.  You have a busted engine son."

            "What? You've got to be kidding me." Pike said.

            "Nope, could cost up to a thousand dollars to fix.  More to replace." Mechanic said.  

            "God Damnit." Pike said stepping out side of the garage. 

            Buffy parked in the Jacob's field parking lot.  She saw that it started to snow, and she put on her winter hat.  She closed the car door and headed toward the stadium.  It was late December, and it was good that the season was over.  Buffy came to the gate and a tall blonde, was there standing.  

            "Ms Summers?" she said waving.  Buffy smiled and walked up to her.  "Its so nice to meet you.  I would ask you for your autograph, but I don't have any paper or a pen."  

            "Remind me later," Buffy said still smiling.  "You must be Jennifer?"

            "You can call me Jenny," she said extending her hand.  Buffy took and shook it.  Jenny was about Buffy's age, a slayer, and had blond curly hair and was wearing a stylish winter cotton coat.  "C'mon follow me."

            Buffy followed Jenny into the stadium.  As they were walking Jenny began a conversation.  "You know, I was one of the potentials around the time you were chosen."

            "Oh wow, really?" Buffy said taking off her hat, letting her hair fall down.  

            "Yeah, I was so excited when we had our little 'awakening.'  All the hard work I did when I was a potential paid off.  The training, the education, when you were called, it was a little disappointing.  I mean it wasn't like I wanted to live the life of a Slayer then, but all the training was for nothing.  But now it isn't." she hesitated.  "How did you take it when you were called?"  

            "Ah, well, it was a surprise.  I wasn't actually told I was a potential.  They had a mix-up in their uh, system thing.  So, this guy came up to me and said.  'You're the one' deal with it." Buffy said. 

            The girls stopped outside of the Indian's Clubhouse.  "Wow, that must have been traumatizing." Jenny said.  Buffy and Jenny went inside. "Welcome to Hellmouth Headquarters."

            The clubhouse had huge plate glass window's overlooking the field.  Couches and a big screen plasma television were to her right. And on the left was a large meeting table, topographic maps and stadium plans spread over it.  A bar with a fridgerator was next to that.  Two other women were there along with an eighteen-year-old girl.  

            "Wow," Buffy said as she looked around.  "And you have this all year round?"

            "Yes," Said a dark skinned woman with short corn rolled hair.  She looked just under thirty years old.  She was having a discussion with an Italian woman, who sat next to her.  "My name is Ashley." Ashley said walking over to shake Buffy's hand. 

            "We actually bought this club house out.  There's a much larger one on the other side of the field, on the side of the first baseline." She said pointing to the windows." Ashley said.  Her large hooped earrings dangling on the sides of her head.  

            "Cool," Buffy said.  Ashley invited her to sit down, Jenny did the same. "So, I guess what I wanted to know was," she kept thinking back to her last meeting with the Watchers' Council, "how you guys operate. Not that I'm the export."

            "Don't sell yourself short," Teresa said. Buffy had trouble understanding what she said next but she was sure it was something about living so long in Sunnydale.

            "Yeah, so. How do you stay here, and were you organized by the CSW?"

            "Well, when the Awakening happened, we kept calling each other." Ashley said pointing to Teresa. Buffy looked surprised. "We were introduced by the Sisterhood a while back. They kind of paired us up as buddy. Ona and Sophie couldn't take care of everyone. When we realized the other Hellmouth had collapsed we came here. When we finally got in touch with Ona she said to make it permanent post."

            "How did you know? The new Hellmouth would open here?" Buffy asked. "And Sophie and Ona?"

            "It was in the required reading and prophecies said this is where the next one would open up. And Sophia and Fiona, the leaders of the Sisterhood. They're at the school now." 

            "Oh right, forgot, haven't met them yet. I've been told everybody likes them." She groaned think of her sister going on about them over the phone. "So what the game plan here? How do you get access?"

            "You're looking at the chief of security." Ashley announced. "And to my highest deputy Teresa. It lets us be around here all the time and since the Hellmouth is in such open view, we also get paid. Jenny is a patrol cop. She always takes the beat around her. Anything out of the ordinary we find out what it is and during the Summer get to watch a lot of baseball. We also have a computer hooked up to the school in New York. They do most of the intense research since they have the library. They're copying all the books onto CDs now to make multiple copies for safe keeping. Most of the books got destroyed in the explosion of the watchers council. The girls seem to be realitvely safe to house them."

            "Sounds good. So have you had any problems yet" Buffy asked trying to take all this down. They seemed to be in a pretty good way, now it was time to hear how Cleveland was doing with a stronger Hellmouth underneath it.

            As they were bragging about the new demons they've come across, Buffy stared out the window.  The field was covered with snow.  She saw two people standing at home plate, wearing black outfits.  Buffy turned to Ashley.           

            "Who's that on the field?" she asked.  Ashley came up beside her.  

            "I don't know, I've never seen them before." Ashley glanced at Jenny.          

            "Where does the Hellmouth open?" Buffy asked, she felt that she knew who was down there. 

            "Right where they are standing." Jenny said. 

            Buffy put back her coat and hat and ran out of the club house.  

            Buffy ran down the ramps that went around the stadium and went out to the boxed seating.   She flew down the steps and lifted herself up and over, and fell down into the field.  The two people, dressed in skin-tight black getups turned to Buffy as she fell.  

             Buffy walked slowly to the two, who were covered in light snow.  "Riley? Sam?"

            Riley smiled. "Buffy!" he handed the cell phone he was holding to his wife.  Buffy hugged Riley.  

            "What the hell are you doing here?" Both of them said in unison.  They chuckled, and started to talk at the same time again.  Riley broke it, "I'll start."

            "Sam and I got word on the new Hellmouth, and we were asked to check it out, give a report."

            "Oh, so your government buddies now know what a Hellmouth is?" Buffy said.

            Sam spoke up, "Well, now they believe it, after what happened in Sunnydale.  We are glad that you made it out ok."

            "We thought you were dead, we got report that Faith died.  But nothing about you." Riley said.  Buffy's expression was confused.

            "Oh yeah, she died.  Say, why don't we go inside?  Its freezing out here." Buffy said trying to warm herself up with her hands.  

            "Are we allowed?" Sam asked. 

            "What? I thought you government types always broke into enterings?" Buffy said laughing as they started to walk back into the stadium.  

            Buffy, Riley, and Sam entered the Clubhouse.  "Hey guys, these are my friends, Riley and Sam." Buffy said to the four girls sitting by the television.    

            "You own this room?" Riley asked Buffy.  

            "Yep, officially owned by CSW.  Pretty much the Hellmouth Security.  This is Ashley, Jenny, Kaleigh, and Teresa, they are all slayers." Buffy said.  "But I don't run the program, Ashley does." 

            Ashley stood up.  "Oh no, Ms Summers.  You do, we are just here to make sure everything is under control.  You are the leader of the Slayers, being the original one of course."  

            "We heard about the activation of the potential slayers," Sam said to Buffy.  

            "Oh," Buffy said looking uneasy.   She hated the sound of being the leader slayer, and of course the government knowing all about it.  

            "We haven't met another slayer yet," Riley said.  "Besides the five of you."  Riley sat down with his wife.  Jenny went to the bar and poured some coffee for them.  

            "Yeah well, after the 'awakening' Giles and the leftover Watchers' opened up a school for some of the new slayers and watchers.  Once more watchers are trained, they are planning to make more schools over the world."  She paused, "Wow, Dawn might actually be responsible for a bunch of slayers." Buffy said in shock, Jenny handing her a cup.  "Thanks Jen."

            "Wow, that's really awesome." Sam said taking a sip of her coffee. She looked at her husband.  "Isn't it sweetheart."

            "Yeah Buffy, how many slayer students are at the school?" Riley asked. "And little Dawn's gonna be a watcher?"

            "Well, the last time I was there, there was about thirty.  Its been almost four and a half months since I've been there, so maybe forty, fifty. Yes and think of Dawn no further, it worries me enough already."

            "Holy shit, that's a lot of kick ass girls." Riley said smiling.  He went to take a sip of his coffee.  "Where is this school?"

            "In one of the slayer's estates in upstate New York.  Really nice home.  If the pop gets larger, we might build on." Buffy explained.  She saw Sam smile brightly.  She was very pretty, and was glad that Riley had her.  

            Sam spilled her coffee on Riley's lap.  "Oh jeez, I'm so sorry honey." She got up trying to soak up the spill with napkins.  

            "Its ok, it missed the delicate parts," Riley laughed. 

            "I'm going to take him into the bathroom and clean him up." Sam said smiling to Buffy and Ashley.  She lead Riley out of the clubhouse.

            Buffy turned to Ashley who said, "So Buffy, who are they?"

*************************

            Sam took Riley into the Women's Bathroom.  She figured it didn't matter since no one was around.  

            Riley took off his pants and gave them to Sam and sat on the sink's counter.  Sam got some paper towels and wet them.       

            "You know your too good to me.  Let it be coffee or demon blood, your always there to help me out." Riley said smiling. 

            Sam's face was very serious as she started to soak the stain with water.  "Did you hear all that in there?"

            "Yeah, the slayers.  What about it?" 

            "Riley, our mission is to observe the Hellmouth and to bring slayers we find to General Lee."  Sam said.

            "Are you insane?  There is no way in hell that I will bring Buffy and those women in.  They are experienced slayers."  Riley said looking into his wife's eyes. 

            "No, not them, the girls.  We know where the school is Riley."

            "No!  They are just innocent young girls!"  Riley yelled.  His tone was getting harsh.  

            "Innocent girls with super powers, think about it Riley, what it could do for this country, for this world?"

            Riley looked blankly at the bathroom wall.  

            Riley and Sam returned to the Clubhouse.  Buffy arose from the couch.  "Wow, what a great wife, she's even doing your laundry while on the job." Buffy smiled admiring Riley's pants.

            "That's why I love her," Riley said hugging Sam.  "We should be getting on our way."

            "Oh, yeah you must have loads of top secret work to do." She kissed Riley on the cheek and hugged Sam.  "Hope to see you again."

            "It was great meeting all of you!" Sam called to the women sitting at the bar talking.  The four girls waved.   Buffy saw them to the door and saw them walk down the stadium hall.  She closed the door behind her. 

            "Hey Buffy! Want to play some Monopoly?" Jenny said from the bar.  

Buffy shouted, "I'm the car!"

Pike paid the taxi driver and went into a bar, where he usually went to drown his problems, and oh did he have them right now. Pike had just enough money to be driven to Cleveland.  He also wanted some pocket money for booze. 

            Pike sat at the bar and ordered a corona.  Beer after beer, he quickly started to feel the effects of the alcohol.  He laid his head on the bar counter and the bartender asked if he wanted another.  Pike shook his head as he squinted looking at him.  

            Pike looked at the clock that was hanging on the wall.  It was about seven p.m. He sighed.  A man sat next to him and ordered a drink.  He was about Pike's age and had a clean cut look to him, with black hair.  Pike tilted his head and looked at the man's face.

            The man looked at him, "Yeah? What?"

            Pike just stared at him.  "Listen punk, what the fuck are you staring at?"

            "You're a - you're a vamp-" Pike started.

            The man stood up and pushed Pike off his stool, he tumbled to the floor.  "What you call me boy?"

            Pike got off his ass and stood up, he could barely stand straight.  "YOU'RE A VAMPIRE!" he yelled and sluggishly punched the guy hard in the face.  

            The guy vamped and punched pike hard in the sternum causing Pike to fly backward smashing into a booth.  People yelled and screamed, and started to spill out of the bar.  The bartender called the police.

            "Oh shit," Pike gasped trying to stand up.  He held his chest with his right hand, he definitely had a broken rib.  When he got up he took a bar stool and smashed it on the floor, and grabbed a stool leg.  "Lets get it on," he said pointing the stake at him. 

            The vampire charged Pike, clothes-lining him.  

******

            Jenny got up from her board game and went to answer her police com.  She turned to the group, "I got a bar fight, says there two men fighting, one looks like he could be on PCP. They're calling me in."  Jenny looked at Buffy,  "You wanna come along Buffy?"

            "Your allowed to do that." Jenny nodded. "Sure, I haven't had me some action in a while." Buffy said smiling as she arose from her chair.

            Ashley finished her turn at Monopoly and looked up at Buffy, "Have fun!"

*******

            Pike hit his head on the floor.  He started to black out.  He hazily saw the Vampire standing over him, laughing.  "Stupid punk." He snarled as he took the collar of Pike's jacket and pulled him up, their faces close.  The vamp opened his mouth, showing his fangs, about to bite Pike's neck.          

            Suddenly the door busted open and the two slayer's walked in.  "Freeze Vamp!" Jenny said, aiming a crossbow at the back of the vampire.  It let go of the unconscious Pike, and turned around to face the women. 

            "A slayer? How fun this could be." He said laughing.  

            "Not 'A'," Jenny said, Buffy coming up beside her.

            "Slayers."          

            Buffy attacked the vampire, quickly beating him down.  Jenny went to aide the civilian on the floor.  "Buffy he's alive."

            Buffy kicked the vampire, sending him flying over the bar, and into the wall of bottles.  She turned to see Jenny kneeling by the hurt man.   She stopped in her tracks, her eyes grew wide.

            "Get him to the car!  I know him.  I'll finish off here."  Buffy said as she vaulted over the bar.  Jenny picked up Pike in her arms and ran out of the bar.  

            Buffy grabbed the vampire by the back of his hair and started to knock his head into the bar.  It groaned in pain.  Buffy took a bottle and smashed it on the back of the vampire's head.  She picked up a sharp shard and said "Bye babe," and beheaded him.

            Buffy saw the bartender cowering in the corner as she started to leave.  "Sorry for the mess." And ran out.  

            Jenny was in the drivers seat and yelled to Buffy.  "Come on! More police will be here," and opened up the passenger side door.  Buffy swooped in and they drove off.

            Buffy looked behind her at the unconscious man in the back seat.  "Damnit Pike."

            "He has a few broken ribs, plus he's drunk.  Might need stitching on his head." Jenny said.  Buffy saw the small bloody gash on his forehead.  Jenny continued.  "Buffy, who is he?"

            "A friend, I told him not to follow me, but he did." Buffy said turning, sitting correctly in her seat.  Jenny saw Buffy's expression.   She was not happy that he was here.  

            "Is that all that happened?" Jenny asked.  Buffy didn't answer, she just looked out the window.  Jenny didn't say anything else.  

            Buffy noticed that they weren't going back to the stadium.  She broke the silence. "Where are we going?"           

            "You are going to stay at my place, I don't want you to waste your money on a hotel.  We can treat your friend there, and you can get some rest." Jenny said smiling.  

            Buffy was grateful for all that Jenny was doing for her.  "Thanks."

            Pike woke up, surprisingly with out his shirt on.  He looked around the room, it was unfamiliar.  He tried to move but then he was reminded of his ribs.  He flinched at the pain.  He noticed that he was bandaged up.  Pike lightly touched his forehead, which also had a bandage.  He looked around the room again.  Poster's of teen age boy actors covered the wall.  A large poster of N'sync's Justin Timberlake was on the closet door.  Pike shuddered, it must have been a nightmare. 

            There were boxes on the floor.  Pike, slowly sat up.  He held his chest as if something was going to fall out.  The door opened and a blonde woman peeked in.       

            "Oh good your awake.  Hold on just a second."

            A moment passed and Buffy came in the room.  She said nothing and slowly walked toward Pike.  Her lips were tightly pressed together.  She was not pleased with Pike.

            "Hey Summers, funny how we keep meeting like this." He said.

            Buffy was silent. 

 "Listen, I'm sorry.  But I couldn't help it." Pike said. "Wait a tick, you're the one who left me.  You fucked and left.  I'm not the one who should be apologizing."

            "Shut up!" Buffy cried.  "You shouldn't have went after me.  You're an idiot!  I used you and left.  You don't follow a person who does that to you!" Buffy started to cry.

            Pike stood up.  "Maybe I shouldn't have.  But I don't think your getting the point here Buffy.  I know you didn't leave because you're a bad person.  I think you were damaged way to many times before.  And I followed you because-," he started to step toward her slowly.  "I think I'm -,"

            "NO! Don't you dare say it!  You don't! No one can, can- have that with me!" she yelled pointing at him.  Buffy may be physically strong but her emotions were still human.  Buffy's tears started to pour.  

 Pike grabbed her by the shoulders.  "I'm in love with you!"

Buffy heaved and cried and fell into Pike's arms, Pike took her down to the floor and let her cry on his chest.  

            Buffy awoke in Pike's arms, laying on the bed.  She rubbed her eyes and looked out the window, the winter sun was shining brightly into the room.   She looked at Pike, who was sleeping peacefully, and kissed him on the cheek.  She took off the covers and got out of bed. She had slept in her clothing, so she just quickly went out of the room and slipped into the bathroom.  Buffy took a shower and put a robe on that Jenny had lent to her.  Jenny had no problem with Pike and Buffy staying for a few weeks, she had no one else living in the house.  Her family was murdered by a vampire clan.  Her mother, father and her teenage sister were violently mutilated a year ago when they were at a supermarket at night.  

            Pike and Buffy had stayed up the whole night, basically talking.  She told him about Angel and Spike.  Pike told her that he was in love with her and he wanted to start a relationship with her.  Buffy hadn't answered him yet.  Buffy had feelings for Pike, but wasn't sure of what those feelings were.  She felt extremely comfortable around him, but not the comfort from a person like Xander.  He's a brotherly comfort, this was more in the pants comfort. She talked it out in her mind, she was babbling inside her own head and it gave her a slight headache.

            Buffy brushed her wet short hair, making it pin-straight, and walked back into the bedroom she spent the night in.  She saw the bed was unmade, and Pike wasn't in it.    She went toward the bed, suddenly she was tackled to the floor by a shirtless Pike, tickling her.  Buffy laughed uncontrollably. 

            Pike whispered into her ear.  "Paybacks a bitch." Smiling, he let her back on his feet.

            "Pike! I could have been disrobed!" Buffy said laughing.  Pike pulled Buffy into him and they both kissed passionately.  

            Pike broke the kiss and said, "That's what I was planning on."

            "Ok, stud that's enough." Buffy said.  

            "I'm gonna go get showered up, you'd better not ditch me." Pike said heading to the bathroom.  Buffy got changed into some clean clothes and walked into the kitchen.  

            Jenny was there watching a small eight inch television, drinking coffee.  "Morning Buffy." She greeted her, smiling.  "Help yourself to some coffee."

            Buffy poured a cup and sat down with Jenny.  "So how'd it go last night?" Jenny said devilishly smiling.

            Buffy rolled her eyes sweetly, "Nothing happened but we did sort things out and made up."     

            "Great! Its really good to have a former military man on the team for a bit.  He could help out a large deal." Jenny said taking a sip of her coffee.

            "Speaking of work, when do we have to head on in?" Buffy asked.

            "Well its eleven now, should be there by twelve." Jenny answered.  

"Sounds good to me, unless pretty boy spends forever in that bathroom." Buffy said looking toward the bathroom door.  They could hear the shower being turned on.  

"Say why don't we go out for dinner tonight?" Jenny asked.  "I think it would be fun."

"Yeah that sounds great." Buffy said.  

Work was rather easy, until of course sundown.  They spent their day talking and having some fun at the stadium.  Buffy introduced Pike to the gang.  Teresa and Jenny would watch the security cameras from time to time.  Ashley, Buffy, and Pike would train Kaliegh in some hand-to-hand combat in an empty hallway.  And as a break, they would order pizza and play some basketball.  

At five thirty in the evening, it was time for the daily patrol.  They split into two groups.  Buffy, Pike, and Jenny.  Ashley, Teresa, Kaliegh.  

Team one patrolled a large cemetery while team two would patrol the streets.  Buffy, Pike, and Jenny entered the cemetery.  The graves and plots were covered in thick snow.  Buffy missed the California weather, snow made patrolling quite difficult.  Buffy was told that since Cleveland was a much larger town, vampires were extremely large.  There were an average of ten risings each night in this cemetery.  

Buffy turned to Jenny, "You feeling anything?"

"Very cold," she said shivering, she zipped her coat all the way up to her chin.  

"No, I mean vampires?"  Buffy asked, scanning the area.  

"Oh right, sorry.  Not yet no." Jenny said.  "Oh look." She was pointing to an empty grave.  

"A vampire rose?" Buffy looked down into the deep whole.  "Interesting, its pretty early."

"Unless there's already someone slaying vampires, look." Pike said pointing to a distance.  Buffy looked to where he indicated and she saw a woman fighting a vampire, with brown wavy hair.  

            "Lets go!" Buffy ordered, and the three ran.  Buffy and Jen dodged through headstones and plants with ease.  As if they were flying.  Pike, on the other hand was behind.  

            Buffy saw the familiar woman stake the vampire.  "Faith!"

            Faith turned.  "Hey B!" she said wiping the dust off her clothing.  Faith had black leather pants on and a heavy leather jacket.  

            "What are you doing here?" Buffy asked.

            "Well, I got bored over at the school, did most of my chores.  Decided to get some more action and to see my best buddy." She said lightly punching Buffy's right arm.   "Also just to see how you are doing.  We miss ya a great deal over there.  Well, maybe just me.  Tell you the truth, everyone seems to be pimping.  Giles, Xander, Willow even Dawn have someone to-, you know." Faith said smiling.  

            "What about Dawn?!" Buffy asked forcefully.

            "Nothin', don't worry bout it." Faith said laughing.  

"But no her with the- the bed thing right? With that boy?" Buffy asked nervously. "Not that I would have a problem with it being a girl but-"

"Chill. No there 'ant no guy nor girl that I know of, B.  I have a feeling you don't have to worry.    Looks like your doin' some pimpin' yourself." Faith said looking toward Pike.  "Who's the cutie?"

Buffy rolled her eyes.  "Pike this is Faith, Faith- Pike." She said introducing the two.  Faith and Pike shook hands.  Faith leaned toward Buffy.  

"He isn't a vamp is he?" Faith whispered. 

Buffy did her normal, angry-at-faith look and said, "No Faith, he's an old friend, who happens to have military training and slays vampires."

"Now that's hot," Faith said flirtingly at Pike.  Pike seemed to blush.  "Oh and whoa with the hair, B.  Trying to be like me?"

"Don't flatter yourself." Buffy said crossing her arms.  "Just trying to look different now.  Maybe since your dead you should die yours blonde?"

"Wait, you raised her from the dead too?" Pike asked Buffy.  

"No Pike, she's an ex-convict.  Went to jail, broke out to help me and Angel, and she's on brownie points.  We let her change her name and pretend that 'Faith' died in Sunnydale." Buffy said with an attitude. 

Faith looked toward the ground.  She was obviously hurt by Buffy's comment.   

"Faith, this is Jenny.  One of the guards at the Hellmouth.  The Hellmouth is under Jacobs Field Stadium." Buffy said. 

Faith shook Jenny's hand.  "Cool,"

"Well seems like you'll be joining us." Jenny said.  

"I'm only visiting, I have to go back in a day or two.  But while I'm here lets go kick some vamp ass!" Faith said excitedly.  

The team, that now included Faith continued on their patrol.  

"How many vampire's have you slayed tonight, Faith?" Jenny asked.  The four of them were walking horizontally through the graveyard trail.  

"Bout' four.  Not sure if ya gonna see anymore tonight." Faith said.

Buffy was walking in between Faith and Pike.  "Well supposedly we should see around six more tonight." She said.  

Jenny saw a fresh grave starting to move around.  "There!" she got out her small crossbow and headed on over toward it.  "This one's mine."

The vampire's hand sprouted from the dirt.  Jenny was impatient so she took the vampire's hand and pulled it out.  It was a young blonde teenage girl.  Jenny put the stake to the girls heart.  The girl was not in vampire mode, and she had the sweetest eyes.  It reminded Jenny of her sister.  "I can't do it," she said letting the vampire go.

The vampire started to run.  Buffy and Faith ran after it while Pike comforted Jenny.  Buffy performed a run jump and kick to the back of the young vampire, causing it to fall to the ground.  Faith took out a stake and leaped over a tombstone and jumped on top of the back of the vampire, stabbing the piece of wood through the back of the girl.  Buffy turned around to see Jenny sitting on the ground head in her hands.  Pike tried to help her.  Buffy knew what it was like to loose a family member.  But not to loose her whole family.  

"Listen B, I'm sorry for you know coming on such a short notice." Faith said from behind her.  

Buffy turned around.  "Oh don't worry about it.  Its not like you haven't done that before."  

"Why? Why do you treat me like crap constantly?" Faith asked. 

"You really want me to answer that? Lets see, you're a murderer, a boyfriend and friend stealer, taken my job, oh and you're psychotic?"  Buffy said crossed.  

"Buffy, its been five years.  Why can't you except that I've changed?"  Faith hesitated her tone quieter.  "How many times do I have to apologize?"

"You think saying you're sorry to me is going to solve anything?"

"What do you want from me then? I came to Sunnydale to help you out, because I feel bad about what I have done to you.   I know I've done wrong.  I know that you tried to help me, and I refused it.  But its different now."

"How is it different Faith?  Just because you helped me in Sunnydale, and you happened to help Angel, I should think we are best buddies again? I don't think so."  Buffy said.

"My God! You are such a hypocrite sometimes B!  You're still pissed at me because I might just be as good, or maybe better than you now!  I helped Angel, when you couldn't.  I'm the one who didn't almost get my self killed, -again!" Faith yelled.  

Pike saw the two girls arguing and decided not to get involved.  "Looks like they've got their own problems as well." He said to Jenny.  Jenny turned to watch.

Buffy punched Faith in the face.  Faith quickly recovered.  "What is with you and hitting people when you know your wrong?"

Buffy's eyes were filled with anger.  "You have no idea what you are talking about!"

"Don't I? Interesting how you let yourself go last year.  Fucking Spike all the time? I heard about the whole psychotic hospital thing as well, tried to kill your friends huh?"  Faith hesitated, fueling Buffy's anger. "Let yourself go?  Looks like we've actually switched bodies again hon. Oh and the hair just puts the cherry on the sundae."  

Faith saw that Buffy had started to cry.  "Don't you think I know this?  Do you realize how many times I wanted to kill myself?"

"I'm sorry,  I just felt that you needed to have someone say something to you.  It should be me since you love doing it constantly to me." Faith said.  "Look, why can't we start over?  A whole new slate?  I am tired of fighting with you all the fucking time.  I think we are pretty much even right now.  Don't you think?"

"Yeah, I think so too.  I think we did enough here, why don't you join us for dinner?" Buffy said wiping her face of tears.  

"Five by Five." Faith said smiling.  

Buffy, Pike, Faith and Jenny walked into the restaurant, Good Times.  They saw Teresa, Ashley and Kaleigh sitting at a large long table.  The four joined them.  

"Hey guys, this is Faith, the other original slayer." Buffy said, introducing them.  They all ordered food and talked.  

Faith was being very friendly with Ashley and Teresa. They told each other jokes.  While Jenny and Kaliegh chatted.  Pike and Buffy sat next to each other being very flirtatious.  The waitress handed each of them their drinks.  Pike had a beer while Buffy had an Apple Martini.  They were soon handed their dinner along with refills of drinks and were having a great time.  

After they finished eating, Pike said, "Hey look there's a karaoke machine!" to Buffy.

"I don't think so." Buffy said smiling.

Pike got out of his chair and headed on over to the stage.  It was late, so he didn't mind doing it, there were only the slayers and a couple in the corner of the room.  Good thing the restaurant was twenty-four hours.

Pike grabbed the microphone and selected a song from the machine.   The music started and the table quickly quieted down.  Faith, who sat beside Buffy, nudged her in the side.  

Pike started to sing.  Buffy remembered that he was in a band in High School.  She knew that he had a great singing voice.  

_She can kill with a smile  
She can wound with her eyes  
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies._

            Pike looked into Buffy's eyes.  

_And she only reveals what she wants you to see  
She hides like a child  
But she's always a woman to me  
  
She can lead you to live  
She can take your or leave you  
She can ask for the truth  
But she'll never believe you  
And she'll take what you give her as long as it's free  
She steals like a thief  
But she's always a woman to me_

Buffy smiled as her eyes had begun to water.  Faith whispered in her ear.  "What a catch, Hon, he can sing too."

            Everyone watched Pike as he walked around the stage.  His voice was rock ballad type and he had perfect pitch.  Even when buzzed he put on a great show.  All Buffy did was watch his eyes as he gazed at her.  

_Oh-she takes care of herself  
She can wait if she wants  
She's ahead of her time  
Oh-and she never gives out  
And she never gives in  
She just changes her mind  
  
She will promise you more  
Than the Garden of Eden  
Then she'll carelessly cut you  
And laugh while you're bleedin'  
But she'll bring out the best  
And the worst you can be  
Blame it all on yourself  
Cause she's always a woman to me_

Pike slowly walked down the stage and to the table. He carelessly sang and his eyes never left Buffy's.  The room was silent as the other slayer graveled at him with their eyes.  He stopped at Buffy's side, looking down at her.  He took her hand and helped her stand up.  He sang to her:

_She can kill with a smile  
She can wound with her eyes  
She can ruin your faith with her casual lies  
And she only reveals what she wants you to see  
She hides like a child_

Pike started to lower his voice, ending the song. He moved closer to her, Buffy could feel his breath on her face. 

_  
But she's always a woman to me . . ._

            The song ended and the entire room clapped and rooted for Pike.  Buffy smiled and Pike kissed her passionately.  The table of slayer's went wild.  Faith chanting, raising her hands, "Go B! Go B! Its your birthday."

            A month had passed, and Buffy and Pike stayed in Cleveland helping the Guards of the Hellmouth.  Faith had left just two days after they arrived in Cleveland.  Buffy and Pike had developed a strong friendship with the girls and promised to return soon.  They also had developed a strong relationship between themselves.  Ever since that night when Pike sang to her, Buffy feels that she has fallen in love, finally.   Pike was carrying their bags as Buffy hugged and said goodbye to Ashley, Jenny, Teresa, and Kaliegh.   She thanked Jenny for letting she and Pike stay at her house.  Buffy told them that she would soon return.  

            Buffy and Pike left the stadium and headed for Buffy's car.  Snow lightly covered the parking lot, and they could feel the crisp late January air on their noses.  Pike put both bags in the trunk and they both got in the car.  Buffy started the car and pulled out of the parking lot, and headed to New York.  

End Chapter Seven.


	9. Chapter Eight: Falling

Chapter 8: Falling

            All the girls looked up from there activities when the chandler, in the common room, began to shake. They could here the booming voices of Willow and Kennedy, from the upstairs. When the shaking stopped, they went back to they had been doing. It was almost everyday now that that couple would be fighting. 

            The semester had started a little over two weeks ago, now they were a school of fifty and everything was going well. Kristy and the other new students had adjusted well enough, though more then one complaint came from Kristy about her accommodations. Ten, her suitemate in the room next to hers, and panted a speaker in her room and piped in creepy noises. Kristy stopped complaining after that. The young Watchers-in-Training returned from they're New Years ski trip relatively intact, not so eager to start up there lessons again. Faith had returned from her excursion to the Hellmouth acted like her normal self again. She and Robin were the same as ever. The only problems the school faced was the constant tension and bickering of the Witch/Slayer couple.

            Everyone started to get used to them in the background, no of the staff members, besides Andrew would say a thing about it. The slayers, however, started taken bets on how long they would last. 

            The fight started in the dorm hallway and then moved into the staff corridor until finally they were slammed the door to their own room. Dawn, Evan and Matt could still here everything from their open door room. Dawn got up and went to her door trying to hear better about what they were saying. "Don't worry to much about it," Matt said trying to calm her fears. "they always fight, isn't that just their way?"

            "No, it wasn't." Dawn said grimly. "The first time she fought with Tara, Tara got her brain sucked out, next time Willow did something stupid, really stupid." 

            "Well, Kennedy is different then Tara, come on," Evan said speedily, her head began to ache, "if we stop every time they fight we'll never get this project done." Dawn closed her door and rejoined her place on the floor next to her friends. They wouldn't Evan began to work again before Evan was knocked out by a rather painful vision. Matt and Dawn rushed to help her.

            "Alright," Willow screamed at Kennedy, "I've apologized like a zillion times! I'm not gonna do it anymore!"

            Kennedy had her back to Willow arms folded. "You don't get it, do you?" She turned around sneering at Willow.

            "Oh I get it, alright! You resent me for making you feel weak." Willow snapped at her.

            "You violated me. You went inside me and pulled out a part of me, don't you get that?"

            "Oh," Willow slammed her fist into the dresser next to her, it made a loud bang but was not broken, "I get it. It's just like last time, I slipped you turned on me too."

"It's like that, you didn't slip this time, you did this on purpose. You knew you were taking something away from me and you still did it." Kennedy complained again. 

"Not this again. You're arguments are all the same, and what the hell am I supposed to do about it now, huh? I can't change the past? Well, I might be able to but I'm not gonna." She rolled her eyes at herself. "What do you want me to do?"

"I don't know, all I know is that things haven't been right in a long time."

"Really." Dripping in sarcasm, "you won't even let me touch you anymore. You act like I scare you." 

"You do… sometimes." Kennedy sighed. They stood there for a long moment on opposite sides of the room. Then an idea seemed to dawn upon Willow.

"You're jealous." She said in a harsh exclamation.

"What?" outraged.

"You were so used to you being the strong one, when we got together." Kennedy gave her a confused look Willow seemed more then happy to elaborate. "Oh poor little Willow had to cry on your shoulder and needed you to get her through it. Scared to make any move without having my wanna-be Slayer nearby. I'm a lot stronger than you think I am, Kennedy." Willow's glare meeting Kennedy's with fiery. 

             "No!" Kennedy shouted believing in her half lie. "It wasn't like that! You know that!" not whining but strongly holding her position. 

            "Oh come on, I'm a threat to you now." She didn't take a break just dived into her rant. "You got even more conceded when you became a Slayer. Thought you were so strong and prefect, you forgot what Buffy told you before it happened. I'm more powerful then all of you put together. I have the upper hand on power and I can control my magic now. I'm fine and you resent that because you lost it, because you lost your 'power' for fifteen minutes." She taunted.

            Kennedy could contain herself and leaped toward her in attack but Willow, with a wave of a hand veered her of course and Kennedy landed with her fist punching through the wall next to Willow.  Kennedy got up nursing her wounded hand now her face inches from Willow, she stared directly into her lovers eyes.

            "You think your so powerful," Willow snickered, her tone evil and resilient, "I could take away your power anytime I want too." Kennedy took a step back, she stared into Willows eyes not in fear or anger but in awe. Willow herself realized she had gone to far and retried from the room as quickly as possible. They both knew it, they were over.

            Kennedy left the school later that day. She moved her things out of the room she had shared with Willow for the past seven months and moved them to the attic. She had said, before she left, that she would come back to the school cause it was her home, but not back to Willow. Everyone seemed to understand and excepted her needing to leave for a while, without protest. Willow hid herself in a private room in the library, waiting out the day for Kennedy to leave. She didn't want to talk to anyone and she defiantly didn't want to run into Kennedy. She knew she was leaving, she didn't want to make it more difficult then it was.

***********

            Less than a week the school went on as normal, Fiona took over Kennedy's classes and the other teachers picked up her patrol schedule. Willow continued on like nothing had happened. She taught her math class, ate her meals, and secluded her self in different rooms of the school. If she hadn't acted liked this the majority of the last semester, they might have been more worried. She always seemed to be too busy to talk, she either had to grade papers, update her computer files or do research. It was exactly a week later when Xander was finally able to catch her. 

            Willow was sitting on her bed, staring out into space. She didn't notice when Xander creped his way in. The room was dim, like she had been sitting there since before the sun went down. "Hey." he said softly to her turning on the lights.

            She was startled at the sound of his voice, she jumped off the bed and put her hand over heart. "Agh, you scared me." She said catching her breath. 

            "Sorry." He closed the door behind himself.

            She relaxed and gave him a smile. "What's up?" almost cheerfully. 

            "I just wanted to talk to you?" He said and he took a seat on the bed, she joined him. 

            "About?" She asked expecting to know the answer.

            "Just talk," he said honestly, "I felt like we haven't talked in a long time."

            "No, we haven't." She agreed, starting to feel a bit guilty. The last time they had a meaningful conversation last was after Anya died, then work began and then the problem she had with Kennedy, stopped her from being with him.

            "It's not your fault. I didn't want to talk." He gave her a smile relaxing her guilt. "We just kept missing each other since we moved here. I got depressed while you had to start the school, just as I'm getting better you and Kennedy start having problems… It's kind of…"

            "Like there was never a good time." She finished for him, making herself more comfortable by resting her head on his shoulder. "You're still my best-friend though."

            "I know." He tilted his head to rest on hers. "How are you doing, with Kennedy gone?" He finally asked.

            "Ah, the big question." Willow groaned, she pulled away and looked at him. "I'm better than I thought I would be." She said honestly. Moving away from him more onto the bed, resting her back on the pillows. 

"Why do you think that?" Xander asked taking his cue and moved back to sit next to her  by the pillow. She moved to cuddle in his arms, he excepted her warmly, kissing her on the forehead.

"I didn't love her." She paused. "Not like I did Tara, not that I ever expected to, but not even close to the way I loved Oz either." Xander was quiet and just let her speak. "I liked her, I liked her a lot, and I need someone like her last year, but…"

"But, what?"

"I didn't think we were going to make it. The collective world– we. We all could have died and nothing would have mattered, I think I just leaped into it cause I was scared. I wanted so much to feel something I didn't, cause she felt it." She sniffed, "I'm horrible."

"For that? Are you kidding me?" He went on playfully, "Now, destroying my car maybe, and trying to end the world. Wanting to fall in love, nah. Apocalypses really screw us up, you know if it hadn't been for the First I think Anya and I might have actually been able to work things out, instead of just jumping each other all the time."

"I guess, it got hard when it was over and we were gonna live. We just stopped getting along. I guess I'm kind of relieved now that she's gone."

"I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For you not being as happy as I thought you were." They laid there talking, Willow feeling better from her confession started to get Xander to talk to her. They talked about Anya and how he would always miss her. Then onto more resent things, like the shop class he was teaching and a certain Greek guidance consular.  

"You know, I didn't realize you were really dating Sophie until Andrew complained to me about it."

"Yeah, I took a page from the Giles/Fiona guide to inter-office romance, pretend no one asked you a question about the relationship pretend you don't understand them."

Willow laughed into his neck, "So how are you two anyway?"

"Good." Then he paused, "Well we were taking things slowly. I still have Anya in my mind and she was still mourning over Fiona's brother. I just don't want to fuck up. I like here, not quite sure if it's love yet, but I think were ready to go to the next step."

"Well she's your type and I like her.  She's sweet and honest, which you apparently like." He rolled his eyes, "She older but like more than a millennium younger than your last. What's with you and Buffy always dating people so much older then you? Oh, and did you realize both you and Giles are dating women the same age?" 

"Willow, don't want to think of that now!" He said moving away. Now they were looking at each other face to face.

"You're scared of Giles aren't you?" she joked. "That's why you haven't slept with her yet."

"Well, shouldn't I be. He's very protective of her. He's been really weird recently and she's like his sister, if I make the wrong moves, he'll-"

"Oh please," she laughed at him. "Giles is just as protective of you as her. Giles thinks of you like his son. He'd be more protective of is 'kind-of' son than his 'kind-of' sister." She stated stalwartly.

Xander smiled than frowned. "Wait, wouldn't that mean I'd be dating my 'kind-of' aunt?" they burst out in laughter.

************

            Fiona looked at her watch as she entered Giles' Office. "It's almost midnight, shouldn't they have comeback by now?"

            "What?" Giles looked up from his book confused.

            "The girls, patrol, have they called?" Fiona asked staring down at him.

            "Oh, no." He said calmly and looked at his watch. "Oh dear, they should have." He  quickly picked up the phone and looked around his desk for the patrol list. Fiona helped him look but they were interrupted by the phone ringing. He grabbed it and continued to look for the number. "Rupert Giles."

            "Hey, it's Bridge." The voice answered on the other line.

"Bridget, are you alright?" Giles let his concern fall into his voice and both he and Fiona not stopped looking. Fiona sighed a relief, and listened to Giles end of the conversation. "What problem?" he said after a few moments silence. After hearing the response he turned to Fiona. "She says to turn on the news."

************

            "Right behind me at the popular all ages dance club 'Twilight' is a spot where four heroic girls saved the day…" Said the overly enthused reporter, with the name Janice Falon on the scene below it. 

            Forty students in pajama jammed in front of the big screen television in the rec room. Some where on the furniture the others scattered on the floor. They watched, wide eyed, the news report about they're fellow classmates. When they should the footage of Rhona, Mel, Candice and Ariel, the girls cheered. The teachers who lingered behind them in the room were less than exuberant. Curtis, Addison and Willow were woken up to watch over the girls while Giles and Robin had to go out and get the other girls from the police station. They were just holding them and Bridget for questioning. Giles wanted to make this as quiet as possible.

            "These young women were already in the club when a gang calling themselves 'The Vampires' entered in masks and began to take hostages. The girls courageously stood up to them and saved all of their 30 fellow clubbers. They said it was all thanks to  their school's stressed self-defense courses. When I asked them why they took the risk to themselves one of the young woman answered 'You think we'd just stand by and let these punks kill everyone.'" 

            "That's got to be Rhona," Said Sara. 

            The teachers gave each other a look. This wasn't gonna be good. 

            "This new gang in town," the reporter went on, "is believed to part of the same gang that terrorized Los Angelus last January when the sun mysteriously blocked out in that area. The 'Vamps' act as if they are the mythical creature they have named themselves after. They only attack at night, and tend to try to suck blood out of there victims. The six attacking gang members are still at large, then ran as they police came to the scene. The police are still out there looking for them. This could be the first of many attacks of this nature, so the police are issuing a warning for everyone to be on guard-" Curtis turned off the TV and all the girls groaned and looked at him. 

            "It's time to go to sleep, there is nothing more to see. You have classes tomorrow." He reasoned and the girls started to get up from and head back to theirs rooms. Curtis, Willow, and Addison head to the front door to wait for them to come home. 

Sophie came down the stairs in her robe, walking past the girls one their way upstairs. "Are they back yet?" She asked Dawn and Evan who waited at the bottom of the stairs. 

"Not yet." Evan sighed. 

Sophie patted her on the back and went on. Her way, noting that the girls were moving so slowly up the stairs they could be moving backwards. She went to her fellow teachers. "They should be back soon." Addison told her. They were all very tired.

"Xander not coming down?" Willow asked staring out the window. 

"No he's passed out." Sophie said plainly.

"How do you know that?" Willow asked coyly. Sophie just gave her a look and made Willow smiled. Sophie matched it and took her pace with the teachers. "Well I'm wiped, I'm going to bed." Willow said going down the other hall to get to the other stairway. Now that Sophie was up she could get back to bed. She just missed the Slayer 'Heroines' getting back. 

Giles wouldn't talk to them during the car ride back. They were cheerfully talking to each other about they're victory but he wouldn't say a word. All the Slayers still in the area ran back and congratulated them. Everyone was smiling and happy even the teachers, well except for Giles. He stood back and glared and the Slayers congratulated each other. He couldn't let it go on.

"All of you, to bed, now!" He announced loud and harshly. The girls stop celebrating and turned to stare at him.

"Yo, man," Rhona said first, "can't we have any fun, we saved liked 30 people tonight? We're heroes." She was never afraid to stand up for herself, and did so at any spare moment. "Why can't we get any recognition for it?"

"No, your stupid little girls, who could have gotten yourselves exposed!" He shouted and continued on, "Your faces, you record, this school is now out in the open! You think the evil creatures of this world don't watch television or read newspapers! This puts us all at risk, we worked very hard for this school to remain virtually invisible and tonight you came very close to mucking all that up! This school must go on unnoticed, it's to important to all the Slayer that this happen. The Slayer has always been an unsung hero for a reason, amenity! You girls will have to do unimaginable things in the world and go unnoticed, that's the price of your power! You need to be responsible with it! Now go to bed!" He paused looking at all the students. "Now!" 

They left this time moving with great speed instead of lagging. Giles's wasn't often mad, but when he was, they didn't want to be around. The young watchers waited with the rest of the staff, who were also caught off guard by Giles' out burst. 

When Giles went off into the greeting room, Dawn yield to Fiona and let her go to him instead of herself. Dawn had grown quite fond of Fiona during the ski trip, and it probably helped she was best friends with her 'daughter'. Dawn knew that she had more of a chance of getting through his barriers than herself. Dawn gave Fiona an encouraging smile as she went onto Giles. 

"What the hell is going on with you?" Fiona accosted the moment she was in the room with him. He didn't answer and he didn't look at her. She soften a bit when she realize he was still confused by himself. She knew something happened a few days ago, he started cutting himself off, "What happened?" she asked again, when he turned around to look at her.

"It's nothing." He looked up again, his gaze still with fire, "I was perfectly right to say what I did." He pointed out of the room, "They can't act like that without drawing the wrong kind of attention!"

"Attention from who?" She stayed strong. "We had Willow put up those ward to protect this school, they're not getting in so easy and it wouldn't be hard for them to find us. This place reeks of magical energy for all of us."

"Creatures of darkness are not limited to the demons and vampires of this world." He said cryptically.

Fiona opened her mouth again to questions his statement but turned around when she heard her name called. It was Matthew and she ran back out into the hall. Giles followed her, concerned about what had happened. 

Evan was on the ground, Matthew, Dawn and Sophie all around her. Fiona rushed to her and got down on her knees. "What happened?" she asked who ever could answer. "A vision?" She already knew. Sophie nodded. Fiona tried to wake her up and asked for help. "Did she say anything?"

"The same thing she said last week." Matthew said casually. "Cold, black, darkness."

Fiona looked over at him. "Last week?" confused.

"She didn't tell you." Surprised. 

Dawn chimed in next, "We were working on a project and she started to get a headache than fainted. She was only out for a second and she told us not to worry."

"Damn." Fiona moaned, waiting for Robin to bring the smelling salts to wake her up. 

"Why do you have to wake her up, can't we just take her up to bed?"

"She just needs to be up for a minute to make sure there is no neurological damage. It has happened to some seers. Their mind can't take the over load of images. Passing out is the first sign of rejecting the visions." She said disappointedly, stroking Evan cheek. Robin back with the container and went down to the floor and put the salt under Evan noise. Evan wake up with a start and jumped right into Fiona's arms.

"It won't stop," Evan cried, her head pounding and the vision haunting her memory. "I don't know what it is and it won't stop." 

Dawn started to tear up in sympathy. If what Fiona was saying was right, Evan could be in serious trouble. She did not want to lose her best friend. 

End Chapter Eight.


	10. Chapter Nine: Free Will

_Chapter 9: Free Will_

            Buffy and Pike are driving on Route 80 heading east towards New York. After switching drivers three times, Pike was now the drivers.  They were now halfway through Pennsylvania and decided to stop to get something to eat.  Pike pulled over to the Rest stop, where it had many fast food restaurants such as Pizza Hut, McDonalds, Wendy's and Popeyes.  They both agreed on Pizza Hut and ordered food.  Pike picked out a table, which there was many to choose from, not many people were there.  They sat and began to chat.

            "Say Buff, why don't we stop by and go to the city?" Pike asked, taking a bite of his pepperoni pan pizza.  

            Buffy replied, "I don't know, I want to get back to the school as soon as possible."

            "Well, we have to stay at a hotel anyway if we want to go upstate.  Why don't we just stop at New York?" he looked at his wrist watch.  It read 4:50 "We can get there by eight tonight.  Get a hotel, rest up, then spend the following day sightseeing?  I've never been to New York. Plus we can do some slayer searching?"

            Buffy sighed and thought about it.  "Alright fine."  

            "Sweet," Pike said and leaned across the table and kissed Buffy. 

            They both finished eating and headed back out to the car.  

            "So you've never been to New York?" Buffy asked, sitting in the passengers seat.  They were driving through northern New Jersey, about forty five minutes until New York.  

            "Nope, never." Pike said keeping his eyes to the road.  Making sure he paid attention to the road signs.

            "Surprising, I thought you would have traveled the country."

            "Travel to other countries, but not necessarily this one."  Pike replied.  "The army kept me posted in Baghdad.  I was able to shoot down some terrorists." He smiled.

            "Really?  You never told me that you were in the war?  I'm so glad that you're okay." Buffy said.

            "Well, normal men just don't scare me, they could have a rocket launcher, and they still wouldn't even tempt me." He said.  "Now after I know what is really out there, there are bigger things to be scared of." 

            "I see what you mean.  Guns are never useful.  But killing a human?  I don't know if I could ever do that, even if they were murderers or something." 

            Buffy remembered Faith.

            _Buffy breaks Faith's grip and plunges the knife into Faith's abdomen. Both of them looked stunned for a moment.  _

            "You did it, you killed me," Faith said weakly.  Faith punches Buffy back. She climbs onto the low wall at the edge of the terrace and looks down.

_            "Still won't help your boy, though. Shoulda been there, B, quite a ride." Faith falls down into the street._

"Buffy? . . . Buffy?" 

            "I'm sorry F-," Buffy cried as she awoke from a dream.  She saw Pike standing outside the car, with Buffy's door open.  

"Dream?" Pike asked.  Buffy's eyes squinted  and nodded.  She moved her brown hair out of her face.  

            "Are we here?" she asked, unbuckling her seat belt.

            "Yep, we are here." Pike said lending her a hand to help her out of the car.  Buffy stood up.  It was nighttime and they were in a Hotel parking lot.  "I figured we should just stay at the hotel tonight, rest up for tomorrow." He smiled.  He wrapped his arm around Buffy's waist and pulled her tightly by his side, Buffy put her head on his shoulder as they walked in the hotel together.  

            They entered their room.  Pike ran to the bed and jumped on top of it.  "I am so tired of this driving." He said looking up at Buffy. 

            "Yeah, me too.  I'm gonna take a shower." She put her bag on a chair next to the television and took out some clothing and bath necessities and walked into the bathroom.  Pike laid down on his stomach with his head at the foot of the bed and turned on the television.  He heard the shower turn on, and he realized that the door was open a crack.  He thought about getting up, but he decided against it.  

            Five minutes passed and there was nothing on Television.  Pike thought, _Screw It and got up and headed for the bathroom door.  He pushed the door open slightly so he could see the shower.  The shower was a glass stall, and Pike could see everything.  She was beautiful as she lathered up her body.  Pike started to get hot, and wanted to jump in there with her.  They hadn't had sex since that night in the hotel room.  He shook the thought from his mind and slowly and quietly closed the door. _

            Buffy heard the door closing and she glanced.  She shook her head and smiled.  

            Buffy got out of the bathroom wearing a bath towel, her hair tangled and wet.  She walked to the mirror by the bed, that Pike was pretending he was asleep in.  She brushed her hair and took off her robe.  Pike opened his one eye slightly and watched her drop her robe, he could see the backside of her.  Pike thought that it was wrong so he turned himself, sleeping on his side.  

            Soon, Buffy moved into the bed with him and wrapped her arms around his waste.  Pike smiled and they both fell asleep.  

********

"Wake up sleepy head." Pike said to Buffy, waking her up.  

            "No daddy, I don't wanna go to school." She said widely smiling.  "You can't make me."

            Pike picked Buffy up and spun her around. 

            "Oh God, too early, gonna Ralph." She said, Pike letting her on her feet.  

            "Lets go little lady we got stuff to do!" he said tapping her on the ass as she started to get ready.  

            "So where we going first?" Pike asked as he got in the passenger side of the Altima.  Buffy started the car.

            "Hmm, I was thinking Times Square first.  Maybe go to Empire State and Elis Island?"  Buffy said, pulling out of the hotel parking lot.

            "Ellis Island?" Pike questioned.

            Buffy rolled her eyes, "Statue of Liberty?"

            "Oh right that statue." Pike said.  Buffy laughed and he gave her a serious look.  "Hey I'm sorry that I didn't finish school!"

            "I guess we know that your not going to teach at the school," she chuckled.

            Buffy and Pike finished sight seeing in Times Square and the Empire State and were now driving to Ellis Island.   It was starting to get late, and they caught the last ferry over to the Island.  

            "What's wrong Pike?" Buffy asked Pike as they were standing at the edge of the boat's deck.  He was looking sick.

            "Have I ever told you that I don't like boats?"  Buffy shook her head.  "Well guess what?" he said.  

            "We are almost there, just hold in it, and if you have to barf, do it over the boat? And not on my boots."  Buffy said, she was wearing a leopard print winter long coat  that she had bought in the city today.  Her hair down and wearing black boots with black pants.  The coat was fake of course, she would never wear real animal fur. They could see their breath,  Pike buried his hands in his leather coat pocket.  

            The statue got larger and larger as they got closer to it.  It only was a fifteen minute ride.  

            "Wow," Pike gasped.  Buffy looked up at him.

            "Magnificent huh?" 

            "Oh yeah, and also thinking how big her-," Pike started, Buffy hit him in the stomach.  

            "Your such a boy." She laughed.  The ferry only had five other people on it.  Probably due to the late hour and that it was very cold.  They got off the boat and headed toward the museum.   They went through the tour, that was guided by a young woman who took them throughout the museum.  They were about to head into the Statue of Liberty.  

            Suddenly the power went on and off, flickering.  Buffy looked at Pike.  Soon the power went completely off. The other tourists began to panic.  The tour guide tried to calm everyone down, she directed them back to the boat.  Buffy and Pike were behind them.  

            All of a sudden, Buffy started to breath heavily and started to feel weak.  She fainted slightly and Pike caught her.  "What is it Summers?"

            Buffy shook her head slightly.  "There's a slayer nearby." 

            "Why did you almost go out for that?" Pike asked helping her to her feet.      

            Buffy turned around and looked up at Pike.  "I can feel her pain.  She's being hurt somewhere around here.  We need to find her!" Buffy said.   She started to run.

            "Where!" Pike called.  Buffy stopped.  She looked around. She had lost the feeling.  

            "I don't kn- AHHHHHHHHHH!" she screamed as if she was shot with a bullet.  Buffy fell again to the floor.  She quickly recovered.  "THIS WAY!" and headed up the leg of the statue.  Pike quickly followed behind.  

            Buffy flew up the stairs non stop.  She had to save the girl, whatever that was happening to her wasn't good.  She didn't have much time left.  Pike was a few steps behind her and slowing down.  

            When she finally reached the head part of the statue she stopped.  What Buffy saw made her freeze.  She saw a woman with black hair facing away from her.  The slayer was tied to the wall by a mystical entrapment.  She was dead.  

            The woman turned around.  "Hello Buffy.  I've been expecting you."

            Pike ran up beside Buffy, and saw the woman.  "Holly shit woman what the fuck are you on?"

            The black hair, black eyed woman laughed.  Purple energy crackling at her fingertips at her side. 

            Buffy's face was in shock she couldn't move. 

            "Amy."

**********

_Willow__ opens door of the Summer's house and sees Amy.  "Hey," Amy greets._

_            "Amy," __Willow__ says plainly._

"Can I come in? My new place isn't set up, and I wanted to borrow some stuff like detergent."

            Willow replied. "You really can't."

_"I can't borrow detergent? Well, when they start calling me 'stinky Amy,' I'm just gonna say, 'hey, not my fault...'"_

_            "I can't spend time with you anymore," __Willow__ said.  _

_"What?" Amy, surprised.  
 "You can't come in here again." __Willow__ saying seriously  
 "What's up, y-you didn't like your birthday present?"  
 "That's right." __Willow__ said.  
 "You're telling me that you didn't have a genuine blast? Come on, that was a sweet spell. That was like a trip to __Disneyland__ without the lines."  
 "You don't get it. What you did to me was wrong. Do you have any idea how much harder that makes, just, everything?" __Willow__ said trying to explain.  
 "You know what I notice? You're not denying that you had fun." Amy said smiling.  
 "Shut up."  
 "Oh, yeah. Sharp argument you got there. Were you on the debate team? I forget. I forgot a lot while you were failing to make me be not a rat." Amy said angrily.  
 "Amy. If you really are my friend ... you better stay away from me. And if you really aren't..." Willow hesitates, and meaningfully, "...you *better* stay away from me."_

_            Amy, surprised turned around as the door shut behind her.  As she walked down the steps and to the sidewalk she was stopped by a familiar voice.  _

_            "Amy . . . my dear sweet Amy." _

_            Amy turned around and she saw her mother.  "Stupid little worthless bitch!  You are a waste of life and energy."_

_            "No, you're dead." Amy said nervously.  Then she realized who it was.  Amy started to chant.  "Vetsche invadoria disparu!"_

_            "Trying to banish me?" Catherine said to her daughter.  _

_            "You're not my mother." Amy said.  _

_            "You're right, I'm not.  But in some ways I am.  I am the mother of your power.  The darkness that fills your heart.  The need to destroy, the need to kill."_

_            Amy closed her eyes and wished for her to go away.  _

_            "Your disgusting, you use your magic like a child." Catherine/First said.  "Wouldn't you like to use your potential for something larger, more useful?"_

_            "What do you mean?" Amy said opening her eyes.  _

_            "You want to surpass your rival? That __Willow_, trying to do whats right.___  But what is right and wrong? Good and Evil?  There all the same thing.  __Willow__ never had to work for where she is today.  I gave her, her power, I can do the same for you." Catherine/First smiled.   "Help me Amy, you always let me down, this is your chance to make me proud."_

            Amy simply smiled.

            "Amy," Buffy said in shock.  "What did you do?"  Buffy slowly walked toward the witch.  

            "Sorry Buffy, she just had to go." Amy smiled.  "Now, I'm afraid you have to as well." Amy, telekinetically froze Buffy in place.

            Pike took out his gun from his holster and aimed it at Amy.  

            "Uh uh uh," Amy said shaking her finger at Pike.  "Shame on you." She made the gun explode in Pike's hands.  Pike flew backward by the impact, hitting his head on the wall and sliding to the ground. Buffy screamed.  

            "New boy toy Buffy?" Amy walked to the inert Buffy.  "Man, you really are a slut." Smiling.

            Amy placed a mystical bubble around Pike, who was unconscious.  "You know, I feel bad, I didn't let the girl fight.  I think I should let you." Amy said to Buffy.

            "Why are you doing this?" Buffy asked.  

            "Why? Why do you think Buffy?"

            "Willow?" she said.

            "Yeah, that and whoa, what a thrill.  Killing someone?  The fantasy of it all." Amy said, a crazy look in her eye.  

            "But why slayers?"  Buffy was paralyzed but not her face.

            "Sorry, hon, I'm not really a one for questions.  I just do what I'm told." Amy said.

********

            _"Kill her," Catherine/First said to Amy as Amy was hovering over a crying fourteen year old potential slayer.  _

_            "I don't, don't want to," Amy said staring down at the girl.  Her eyes were frizzled and black.  _

_            "Oh come on, don't disappoint me now, you've been doing so well up to here.  Amy do it or I will strip you of your powers!" It yelled.  _

_            Amy closed her eyes and kneeled down.  She put her hand on the girls chest.  An energy went through from Amy into the girl, and the girls' heartbeat stopped.  _

_^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^_

            Amy's darkness began to slowly fill her body.  She cursed Willow with a penance malediction spell.  Make her turn into Warren.  They were in the Lecture hall at UC Sunnydale.  Amy had pretended to fail to save Willow.  

_            As Amy began to talk to Kennedy, __Willow_'s lover.___  The First/Catherine whispered into Amy's ear.  "She's a potential.  Make sure she dies."_

_            Amy snapped back and began to talk to Kennedy, who was worried.  "You're really worried about her. Look, she's gonna be fine, really. She's good at this. She's strong. And she's dealt with a lot worse. Long before she ever went out and found herself a big old potential slayer bodyguard, OK? Just have a little faith in her."_

_            "I never said I was a potential slayer." Kennedy replied. _

_            Innocently, Amy tries to correct herself, "Oh, no, I think you did. When you first got here, you told us—," _

_            Kennedy, "No, I didn't.   How did you know who I was?_

_            "Oops," Amy smiled.  _

_            "Tell me why you did this to her." Kennedy said threateningly about to attack Amy.  Amy waved her hand in front of her, and the girl flew backward into a set of chairs.  _

_            Kennedy slowly stands up, "What did you do to her?"_

_            Amy smiles cockily, "What, to __Willow__? Oh, just your standard penance malediction is all."_

_            Kennedy slowly walks back towards Amy,  "Okay, and that's magic crazy talk for what?"_

_             "I put a hex on her," Amy replies with a smirk._

_            "I got that part. But why __Warren__?__ And why did it happen after we kissed?"_

_            Amy chuckles, "Oh, that's rich," moves closer to her.  "That must've been some kiss. You must be good."_

_            "Answer me,"_

_            "The hex I cast lets the victim's subconscious pick the form of their punishment. It's always better than anything I can come up with. Elegant, you know?" Amy answered._

_            Kennedy threatened, "Undo it. Let her out."_

_            "Okay," Amy started, "Oh, wait, I forgot—no."_

_            "Why would you do this to her? You really hate her that much?" Kennedy asked._

_            Amy sighed and explained,  "This is not about hate**. It's about power**. Willow always had all the power, long before she even knew what to do with it. Just came so easy for her. The rest of us—we had to work twice as hard to be half as good. But no one cares about how hard you work. They just care about cute, sweet __Willow__. They don't know how weak she is. She gave in to evil—stuff worse than I can even imagine, (she lied)— She almost destroyed the world! And yet everyone keeps on loving her? So what's wrong with having a little fun, huh? Taking her down a peg or two?"_

_            Kennedy, furious, "Fun? She's disappearing. Fading away in that creep, and you think it's fun."_

_            Amy nods.  "It was just a game. It's not my fault if she's losing herself."_

_            "I'm gonna stop you now, you know," Kennedy said.  _

_            "Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. But I wonder where he'd be right about now." Amy snaps her fingers and Kennedy disappeared.  _

_            Catherine appears to her again.  "You better hope that __Willow__ kills her."_

_            "Oh don't worry mother, she will." Amy smirks.  _

_**********_

_            Later that night.  Amy is sitting watching television when The First appears.  _

_            "Bitch! She didn't die!" Her eyes were dark and evil._

_            "You must be mistaken mother," Amy said standing up.       _

_            "Your plan didn't work, the girl is still alive."_

_            "Please forgive me, I shall not fail you again." Amy said pleading._

_            "You'd better not, next time I won't have you delay yourself from killing another."  Catherine said smiling._

_            Amy was confused.  Suddenly Amy started to glow and was lifted into the air.  An energy flowed around her and then it was gone.  Amy fell to the floor.  Her eyes were dark, her hair was pitch black.  Her humanity was gone.  "Yes mother."_

_***********_

"The First Evil." Buffy said.  "It's telling you what to do." Buffy said, paralyzed by Amy's telekinetic power.

            Amy laughed.  "So that's what you call her?  Not very original hmm?"  Amy walked to Buffy's side.  "Yes, except I call her mother," she said smiling.

              "She tells you to kill slayers?  Amy how could you?"

            "Oh, please Buffy, stop with the pep talk.  I'm tired of all you do-gooders.  You're all two faced and just plain stupid.  Take Willow for instance.  She's doing so much worst than I am, and you still treat her like your best friend." Amy shook her head.  "But I can sense your jealousy of her as well as mine.  Your not really her best friend anymore are you?"

            Buffy looked confused.  "What are you talking about?" 

            "You were always the slayer, the one with the power.  You can't handle that Willow doesn't need you.  That she is so much more powerful than you.  Tell me this, when was the last time you actually had a good time with her and actually talked?" Amy asked.

            Buffy thought for the moment.   No answer.

            Amy chuckled. "Ah hah! I knew it.  Willow's been to busy fucking her girlfriend and saving the world, than to spend time with you."

            "Your wrong.  I love Willow, and she loves me."  Buffy replied.  A tear strolled down her cheek and fell to the floor.

            "Then why are you crying?  I don't have to read your mind, just your expressions." Amy said.  "Now I'm getting tired of this talking." She clapped her hands.  

            They were out of the statue and in a small park, in the Island.  Buffy was no longer inert.  She stood up, looking around for her enemy.

            A gray smoke appeared in front of her and Amy appeared and smiled.  "Hello again."            

            Buffy upercutted Amy and she fell backward from the hit.  Amy quickly recovered.  "Feisty aren't we?"

            "Why are we down here? Where's Pike?" Buffy asked, holding her defense stance.  She knew, if Amy was even half as powerful as Willow, she couldn't fight her, but she planned to try.  

            "Don't worry about you man sweetheart.  And you think I can use my power in a large copper conductor?  Plus I like my space."  Amy said, her hands started to crackle with energy.  "I'm sorry Buffy, its nothing personal."  She shot a power energy ball that hit Buffy hard, she flew twenty feet backward and her back hit the tree.  

            "It's just that you're a slayer, and I kill slayers."  Amy said with a smirk. "Willow was probably the only one that you could take you down.  Yet she decided not to kill you.  Lets see if I can do better." 

            Buffy ran at Amy, electricity escaped from her hands and shot Buffy back down.  

            "You know what?" Buffy said struggling, trying to get back up. "Willow hurt me a lot more."

            Amy was furious, she clenched her teeth and put her hand on Buffy's head. Energy blasted her head.  Buffy screamed in horrible pain as it felt that her head was about to explode.  Amy let her go.  Buffy held her head in her hands trying to stop the world from spinning.

            "Willow's a fool.  I mean come on, everyone knows that Black Magick is more powerful than White." Amy smiled, "You can't even kill anyone with White Magick."  Suddenly Amy was shot in the back by a powerful energy white blast.  Amy flew over Buffy's head and tumbled to the ground.  Amy looked up at her attacker.

            "I wouldn't say that," Willow said sweetly.  

*** 

            "Willow?" Buffy said weakly, standing up.  

            "Hey Buffy-, I think you should get out of here." Willow said, her gaze moving to Amy who was still on the ground.  "This could get messy."

            Amy panted, "Willow," she tiredly laughed.

            "Alright, I have a friend up at the head of the statue, he's in some force field or something, I will meet you up there." Buffy ran up to Willow and kissed her on the cheek.  Willow smiled.  "I've missed you," Buffy said smiling, and ran to the entrance of the statue.

            __

"Amy," Willow said, her tone low and threatening.  Amy seemed as if she levitated back on her feet.  

            "Hi Will, how've you been?" Amy asked innocently.  "What a sense of timing you have."

            Without another word Willow pushed Amy back with the wave of her hand.  Amy suddenly disappeared, and reappeared behind Willow.  Amy punched Willow in the face, as Willow started to turn.  

            "Alright then, you want hand to hand, I'll give it to you." Willow said, she performed a spell to make her stronger and fight capable.  Amy did the same thing.  

            Willow kicked Amy in the stomach.  Amy quickly punched Willow in the face.  Willow took Amy by the hair and flung her into a tree.  

            "You bitch," Amy said.  "That's it."  Her eyes went from black to a fiery orange.  She chanted a Latin spell, and from her fingertips, an orange ball of flame appeared.  

            "I wouldn't do that if I were you." Willow said calmly.  

            "Why not?  You'll turn me into a rat?  Maybe we should try a frog next time?" Amy laughed and she threw the fire ball at Willow.  It got larger as it traveled in the air.  Willow tried to dodge it but couldn't.  It hit her, making an explosion.  

            Amy smirked as she saw the smoke clear.  Willow was gone.   

"Hey Amy!" Amy heard.  "Look up!"

            Amy looked up and she saw Willow levitating, her hair flowing in the wind.  "I told you not to do that."  Willow began to chant again.  As she chanted her body began to twirl in circles.  

            "What are you doing!" Amy called.  Suddenly Willow stopped.  

            "This." And with that Willow shot out extreme power bolts that drilled into Amy below.  Amy screamed as the energy blasts tore into her flesh.  Willow slowly lowered herself down to the ground.  With another chant, vines began to crawl up Amy's legs, wrapping around her like a snake.  Amy was dazed, she didn't know what was happening.  The vines started to completely wrap up her entire body, like a mummy.  They stopped at the bottom of her nose.  No hands, no mouth, no chanting.  

            Amy snapped out of her daze and began to struggle with the vines that wrapped around her body.  "Now what am I going to do with you," Willow said, her attitude innocent.  "Lets think for a bit, shall we?" she put a finger to her mouth and paced back and forth in front of Amy.

            Willow saw a tear fall from one of Amy's eyes, her expression sad.  "What now?  Did I hurt you?" she said sarcastically.  Amy mumbled.  Willow rolled her eyes and let the vines move away from her mouth so she could speak.  

            "Help me Willow!" Amy said, she was hysterical.  "I can't stop.  She's, she's- make her stop doing this to me!"

            "Who is making you do this?" Willow asked.  Suddenly Catherine Madison appeared in front of Willow.  "Ms. Madison?"

            Catherine smiled.  Willow looked hard at the woman.  "Your not Catherine."

            "A part of me is.  And that part of me, is very, proud of you Willow.  I would never think that the little wallflower that used to come to my house would surpass me."

            "Get out of here," Willow said harshly.  Catherine smiled and turned to Amy.  

            The vines disappeared from around Amy, Willow was shocked.  "Finish her,"

            Amy smiled and lunged at Willow.  The two witches hands were brought together, pushing toward each other, power crackling between the two of them.  A purple energy made Amy glow.   The First just watched and laughed from the side, as if she was watching wrestling.  

            Willow grunted, "I can help you! Stop Amy," She said struggling, Willow was not at full power, if she did, she was afraid she would kill her.  Amy's glow grew stronger, and in a burst of lightning, Willow flew back into a tree.  Amy panted as she walked toward Willow.  Her black hair was frizzy, and a vein had popped out of her head.  The First had given her more power.  

            Willow didn't want to use any more of her magic, so she thought that she should try what Xander did.  "Amy, please.  Don't do this, if you let her win you can never come back." 

            Amy just ignored her, didn't say a word.  

            "Re- remember,"  Willow gasped.  "Remember brownies?  We used to eat so much that our tummies would hurt?"  

            There was no change, the fury inside Amy was still inside.  The First/Catherine turned to Willow who was standing with her arms crossed.  "Its too late,  she has no humanity left inside of her.  She doesn't care what happens to you, - or herself."  It smiled.

            Willow glared and gritted at the non-corporeal form.  

            "I always loved that vengeance inside of you Willow, you were the one I originally wanted, but there is still hope for you yet." Catherine smiled.  

            "Never!" Willow yelled and stood up.  She punched Amy in the face and shot her to the down with energy.  Willow picked Amy up and put her hand to her chest.  Willow began to suck the power from Amy as she did with Giles and Rack.  

Catherine began to laugh, "that's it, feel the burn.  All that hate that's still inside of you.  All that sorrow.  You will be mine soon."

Willow tried to stop, she only did it to slow the witch down, but she couldn't.  She kept on going.  "Make it stop!" she cried.  

  
            Buffy sat on the ground, her head in her hands.   Pike was still inside the bubble, conscious.  They couldn't speak to each other because of the barrier, they sat in silence.   Suddenly the bubble disappeared and Pike fell to the floor.  

            "Pike!"  Buffy cried as she picked him up and hugged him.  

            "Hey Buff, long time no see," he said smiling.

            Buffy and Pike ran down to the park back to Willow.  Buffy saw Willow sucking the power from Amy and ran to her.  

            "Willow stop!" she called out to her.   

            "Buffy! Help! I can't stop!" Willow cried hysterically.  Buffy went behind Willow and began to pull on her arms to let go of the girl.  Finally, Willow as able to let go, and Amy's limp body fell to the ground.  Willow's hair had turned black and she stared down at Amy's body.  Buffy touched Willow's shoulder.        

            Willow turned, her eyes were black, veins appeared all over.  Buffy gasped, and a lightning bolt smashed through her chest, and sent her flying.  Pike was able to catch her and they both fell the floor.  

            Dark Willow smiled.  She then heard a familiar voice.  "Willow how could you do this?" 

            The black magick witch turned to see a woman crouched over Amy's dead body.  The woman lifted her head.  "You killed her Willow."

            Willow breathed heavily.  " . . . Tara?"

            The magic had disappeared, and she was Willow again.  Willow was strong enough now to back herself off.  She closed her eyes and told it to go away.

Buffy and Pike walked to Willow side.  "That's not Tara, Will.   You know that, come on, lets go, ignore her."

            "I hate you! You're a bitch!" Tara yelled at Willow.  Willow closed her ears with her hands as tears fell.   "You can't stop! You will never stop! You will kill all of your friends!"

            Buffy took Willows arm and dragged Willow the other way, when Angel had appeared in front of Buffy.

            "Hey Buff." Angel said his arms crossed.

            "That's not him either," Willow said to Buffy.

            "STOP! Please just leave us alone!" Buffy yelled. And started to walk with Pike and Willow away from the First. 

            "I really wanted to see you when I was in town again."  Buffy stopped and turned to Angel.  "But then that Faith came, and oh how much hotter she is than you."  Angel laughed as Buffy's eyes filled with rage.  

            "Your so cute when your upset.  I think I should do it again.  Faith, ooh, how she pushes a mans buttons.  Makes me all hot just thinking about it again."  The first's hand began to creep down to his waistline.  

            Buffy turned to Willow who knew the same.  The first was in form of Angelus not Angel.  

            "You might want to get back to your school of yours soon." He smiled, his hands crossed again.  "I hear a lot of- screaming."

            Buffy, Willow and Pike turned and ran to the dock.  

            "Shit! There aren't any ferries left!" Buffy yelled.  Pike looked around, he spotted a speed boat not to far down the dock.

            "Hey! Come on!" he yelled as they all went to the speed boat. 

            Pike jumped in and helped Buffy and Willow inside.  He frantically looked for the keys.  "Nothing."

            Willow looked at the couple and went to the controls.  She put her and on the ignition and heard the boat spring to life.  "Wow I wish I knew you earlier." Pike said smiling as he took the wheel and they drove across the lake.

            "What do you think is wrong at the school?"  Buffy asked Willow.

            "Not sure, everything was fine when I left." Willow replied.  The two girls were sitting face to face.  

            "Are you ok?  You almost lost it back there."

            "I'll be fine.  Just, confused, and tired.  Amy-," Willow started.

            "I know, its terrible, but she was lost Willow, there was nothing else you could do."

            "There was, but the instinct inside of me didn't let me let go.  Its still inside me Buffy, and it will never go away." She said, a tear rolling down her cheek.  Buffy hugged her best friend. 

*************

End Chapter Nine.


	11. Chapter Ten: Return of the Queen

_Chapter 10: Return of the Queen_

            Buffy, Willow and Pike were back in Buffy's car heading upstate.  It was really late, but they decided to drive all night because of the warning that The First had given them.  Buffy was driving, Willow was in the passenger's seat and Pike was sleeping like a baby in the backseat.

            "So, how was your journey?" Willow asked.  Her long red hair was tied up in a clip.   

            "Good, It went, well.  Saw Angel, got a few recruits for ya."  Buffy said.  She looked in her rearview mirror at Pike.  She tilted her head and said "Picked up a really hot hitchhiker."

            Willow raised her eyebrow and turned to see Pike.  "He is a cutie," she said smiling.  "You know you never told me what his name was, and for some reason he knows about me."  

            "Oh gee, sorry Wil," she said looking at her friend.  "His name is Pike.  I told you about him before.  Old friend from LA, the original 'slayerette' if you will."

            "Wow, Pike huh? I remember you telling us about him now. What a name.  Sounds a little familiar doesn't it?" Willow asked.

            Buffy gave her a glance, a cue for Willow to be quiet.  "Speaking of relationships, how's Kennedy?"

            Willow slumped her head. Buffy, concerned, "Oh God, sorry Will, what happened?"

            "Things haven't been going well in a while. After some time after I tested the binding spell on her, it was like a chore to stay together.  You know what I mean?" Willow said.  She was more stronger about it.

            "Yeah I do, I felt the same with Riley." She said, her eyes concentrated on the road.  Only a few cars would pass her every now and then.  

            "So, we are over.  She left to go train other girls in the field, not planning to come back anytime soon. Tell you the truth, I'm kind of happy that it.  Things have been hectic after that.  The students are so obnoxious sometimes, so I decided to go into the city to buy some things.  Its good to stroll the city for a day alone.  Then I felt the magic use of Amy, then I found you."  Willow said smiling.  

            "I am so glad you were there," Buffy said.  "I'd probably be dead if it wasn't for you."  

            Buffy asked about Xander.

            "He's doing a lot better," Willow said smiling.  "Everyone is going to be so glad to see you."

            "I hope so." She muttered out into the early morning air.

********

            They arrived through the gates at seven. Buffy woke up Pike and led the sleepy man to the door Willow was holding open. Once they were through Willow close the door and lead them down to the hall to the teachers offices. "I called Robin, before we left, he said everything is fine, but I want to check up with him first.

            "What's he doing up so early?" Buffy asked, supporting Pike on her left side.

            "Oh, he was on duty after 3 a.m."

            "Ah," She said and Pike pushed away from her saying he could walk around on his own. 

            When they turned the corridor, Robin waiting for them, "This place has been quiet all night, Willow." He told her first, and they were able to breath easier. "I think the First was living up to it's nickname."

            "Yeah, it does like to taunt." Willow agreed, noticing his gaze switch to Buffy. 

"Welcome back, Buffy." He smiled and walk to her, she smiled and gave her a hug.

            "Thanks, Robin." She said pulling back giving him a smile. 

            "Who's your friend?" He asked gesturing to Pike who was now slumped against the wall.

            She rushed over to him. "Are you okay?" She asked, worried. His eyes where closed and looked like he had almost lost consciousness.

            "Yeah," he answered softy. "Just need to sleep more."

            Willow turned Robin. "He's Pike." Robin look at her strangely. "P-ike." She said clearly again giving him a friendly glare. 

            "Is he alright? Do you need help?" Robin asked.

            "He's gonna be fine, just tired. You know, like when civilians are trying to keep up with the Slayers, they forget they actually need sleep." She joked with Robin, "and he did get hit on the head." She tended to him and he was leaning on her again. "I'm going to take him up to my room, then go check up on Dawn." Buffy announced. They headed for the stairs, but she abruptly turned around. "My room is still my room?" she asked Willow quickly.

            "Yep and the way you left it." Then Willow thought a moment, "Unless Dawn barrowed some of your stuff." 

            "I hope she didn't take my good clothes." She said as got them to the stairs. "Pike, either you walk or I carry you." She threatened.

*********

            Buffy dropped off Pike and her bags off in her room. He fell right back to sleep when his head hit the pillow. She quickly changed into clean clothes and went to Dawn's door. They had a connecting bathroom. They had redecorated it with clips and cut out, it looked like a college dorm.  She smiled once it was in sight. Memories of her time at the school kept coming back, she and Dawn spent a lot a time together before she left. She remembered coming back sneaking into Dawn's room after her patrols just to make sure she was okay.

            She stop to look at the sign on the door. "Dawn and Evan" with humorous comments stuck up all around it. She smiled and gently opened the door, hoping Evan wouldn't mind the intrusion. Both girls were still asleep. Classes didn't start until ten and Dawn was not an early riser, apparently neither was Evan. 

            She went to Dawn's bed and sat down on the edge. She looked down at her sister, thought she looked happy. Buffy was glad and stroked her cheek. "Dawn." She called softy not to wake up Evan, who shifted in her bed. "Dawn."

            Dawn answered sleepily, not opening eyes, "Ev, to early." She groaned in her sleep turning over. Buffy smiled at her sister's sleep talking.  

            "Dawn." She called again.

            "Go away." She said this time starting to really wake up.

            "Dawn, it's me." She said this time rubbing her shoulder.

            Dawn is still for a moment, then stretched and yawned. The whole time Buffy watching her. "Good morning, sleepyhead." She said.

            Dawn's eyes snapped open and widen, she bolted upright in bed. "BUFFY!" she screeched and jumped into her sisters arms, holding her tight. Buffy returned the hug. "Oh my god your actually back! I'm so glad your home!" Happily. 

            "What's wrong?" Evan said confused sitting up in bed.

            "Buffy's back!" Dawn said leaving the hug and turning to Evan, as if she would join in on the celebration.

            "Oh." She said looking at them confused, then fell back on the pillows. "Going back to sleep now." She sighed, "Keep it down." She cuddled back into bed.

            Dawn laughed, trying to keep herself quieter, she turned back to Buffy, "That's Evan, not a morning person- Oh my god your hair!" She exclaimed then leaped back into Buffy's arms. Dawn heard Evan groan at her and grabbed Buffy's hand and took her out of the room. "might as well let her sleep so she's coherent for classes." She closed her door then leaped into her sisters arms again.

            "I forgot how huggy you get when you just wake up." Buffy said. Dawn sat them down on the couches in the hall. 

            "Yeah-" then her eyes opened fully again, "Love the hair." Dawn smiled.

            "Thank you." Buffy gave her a look. "I loved that you haven't changed anything."

            "Well, I cut my hair but it grew out already." Dawn shrugged. "So how have you been, you stopped telling me stuff after you left-"

            "Buffy your back!" Giles interrupted her. He was in his sweats and Buffy new he had just gotten back from his morning run. "I've missed you so much." He said as she stood and he pulled her into his arms.

            "Hey, Buffy!" Xander called next, fresh from bed, Willow next to him. They hug next, "Good choice with the hair." He commented and she beamed at him. She look up at him and realized she had forgotten that his eye was really gone. "Someone's looking at the eye." He said with good humor.

            "Sorry."

            "It's alright, used to it." He smiled. 

            "It's good to be back." She continued to beam at them all, she sat back down next to Dawn. The rest of them sat.

            "I hear you brought back a male suitor, and he's currently sleeping in your bed." Xander said. Buffy glared at Willow.

            "What?" Giles piped up.

            "His name is Pike, and I told you all about him before."

            "Pike! L.A., motorcycle, slay vamps Pike?" –Dawn.

            "The one Willow and I used to say was your imaginary friend, Pike?" Xander joked.

            "Who?"-Giles.

            "He's the guy she met right after she became the slayer." Dawn spoke up. "I only caught a glimpse of him once, he was so cool."

            "He's here?" Giles asked to confirm.

            "Yeah, I ran into him in LA, then Chicago… we've been kind traveling together since Cleveland." 

            "Oh." Giles got the hint that they were together and mind began to go through all of Buffy's boyfriends. 

            "Shouldn't be too bad, it's not like he's a Vampire." Xander said, then turned to Buffy, "He's not is he?"

**********

            It wasn't long before her all-nighter started to catch up with her. She could goes days without sleep, but when she was dealing with the First last year, she learned to sleep whenever she got the chance, besides it was a school day everyone else had things to do. She put on her pj's and crawled into bed next to Pike. They slept the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon, waking up only to partake in each other company a couple of times.

            They were up and dressed in time for dinner. Buffy looked in her mirror. Her hair was being to fade and her routes were starting to show, she'd need to change her hair soon.

            "Ready to go to dinner?" Pike asked her. 

            "Yeah." She turned around and linked arms with him, "Ready to meet everybody?"

            "As I'll ever be."

            When Buffy walked in the dinning hall she was surprised by how full it was. She forgot how many students 52 was. She noticed most of the girls looking at her and spreading stories. Willow had her take Kennedy's old seat next to her. She said hey to all the other staff members at the table and Willow was kind enough to make the introductions of Pike. 

            "Looks like your puppy followed you all the way home." Faith joked as Buffy went past her to her chair. Pike one side Willow on the other and Xander across from her. Xander introduced himself to Pike as Buffy looked around the room for Dawn. She was heading to one of the tables with Evan and Matt, but caught Buffy's eye and went to the staff table instead, standing behind the empty chair next to Xander.

            "Hey, have a good nap?" Dawn asked her.

            "Good, how were classes?"

            "Giles is teaching the finder points of cross-referencing." Said Evan.

            "Fun."

            "Like a hole through the head." She extended to shake Buffy's, Buffy accepted it. "Sorry about earlier."

            "No problem. I would have done the same." She turned to Matt. And shook his hand, "You must be Mathew."

            "Yeah," He smiled, "It's nice to meet the only woman that made my Grandfather quake in his boots. Well except for my aunt." Buffy shrugged then froze, she forgot who he was, Quentin Travers' grandson. He didn't seem like his grandfather, at least that was a good sign. Plus she had heard such raves about his aunt.

            To recover she quickly introduced Pike. "It's good to finally met ya, Dawn. Buffy talks about you all the time." They talked for a few minutes. 

            "Well we better go to our table."

            "Why don't you eat here tonight?" Buffy upset that her sister will have to leave her so soon. "There are empty seats."

            "No, Fiona and Sophie will be here any minute, and we can't take Clem and Andrew's seats, that's too mean they cooked dinner. We'll talk after dinner." And Dawn left the table with her friends.

            "Wait, Clem's here?"

            "Yep since, December." Xander answered. "He helps Andrew out in the kitchen and does other things."

            "He's the school mascot." Willow chimed in. 

            When Clem brought the food tray to the staff table he stopped and gave Buffy a hug. They began to eat and Buffy began to dread the meeting of her and the two older slayers she had heard so much about. All the slayers she met, who used to be part of the Unchosen talked about them. They did so much. Fighting vamps, taking care of others. She'd only been able to handle one at a time on her best days. 

            The women entered together laughing and went straight to there seats.  "Welcome back, Buffy." said the curly haired Slayer. "I'm Sophia, this is Fiona." She smiled and seemed very sweet and smiling. Buffy noticed that Xander didn't take his eyes off her since she walked in.

            "Good to finally meet you." She said to Sophie, "You too, Fiona, I've heard a lot about you both. Jenny wanted me to say hi, for her."

            "Jenny?" Willow inquired, putting food on her plate. 

            "She's one of the Slayers guarding the new Hellmouth." Said Fiona, passing some of the trays down the table. "I've heard a lot about you, mostly from Dawn." She said nicely. 

            "You talk to Dawn a lot?" Buffy asked a little surprised, she didn't like being so negative to someone just because of their name.

            "Well with her being so close to Evan and Matt, it was bound to happen. I took them skiing over break." She said.

"Skiing? She didn't tell me that." Buffy sounded upset.

"Yeah, she was pretty good, once she got over her fear of the cold."

"Yeah, she's a California girl, the cold really gets to us." Buffy said lightly, taking food on her plate.

"Yeah, she great kid. Great with research, doing very well in her classes too."

"You're her teacher too?"  

The meal went on, Fiona was asked a question by Giles about her day. Fiona told him that he needed to cover her classes for the next day because she need to take Evan to the doctor. Sophia and Xander started their own conversation and she heard Pike talking to Clem on the other side of her. She asked Willow to help catch her up at all the gossip going around the school.

            Willow whispered to Buffy, "Evan is her ward. They thought she was a potential…" And quickly gave her the lowdown on her sisters new best friend. When she heard about the possible brain tumor she could only think of her mother. Buffy listened to the rest of what Willow was saying, trying to push the bad memories away when it seemed like out of nowhere, Sophie and Xander started kissing. That cause all other thoughts to move away. She looked around and it didn't seem to bother anyone else. Even Fiona, who was sitting next to her seemed more into her conversation with Giles.

            Willow looked at Buffy and what she was looking at. Willow gave her a smiled, "Well they're together," she whispered to her, the room was loud enough no one really heard them. "she's been great for him. He was kind of scared to start anything because of Giles."

            "What about Giles?" Buffy asked.

            "I thought I told you," Willow told her about Sophie and Giles and she nodded, "but he got over it and now…" she faded out taking a bite of food. Buffy picked up her water glass and took a sip, "At least their better than Giles and Fiona, I can feel them playing footsy under the table right now." 

            Buffy choked on her drink, and began to cough, "You alright?" everybody asked her, Willow started to laugh at her and Buffy brought herself under control.

            "I'm fine." She said weakly, Pike pat her on the back.

***********

            After dinner Giles asked Buffy to take a walk with him. He said something about things being kept more private if they keep moving. He asked her about her trip she told him all of it, about visit from the first and her run ins with Pike, leaving out only the things he didn't need to know about. 

            "The First isn't through with us yet, I'd wager. It's first plan failed, I have know idea what a back up plain would be."

            "At least we're stronger now."

            "Yes, but we must be prepared." Their was a few moments of quiet before Giles spoke up again, "So this Pike.." Buffy rolled her eyes preparing for the boyfriend talk. "He's been with you since Cleveland."

            "No I met up with him back in LA, he followed me to Chicago and Cleveland." 

            "So he was stalking you." He remarked.

            "Oh come on," she started, "he's known me longer than you have. And since when did you get so concerned about my boyfriends?"

            "I've always been but now, after your track record has become more and more disconcerting and I being the 'parent' feel the need to now concerned."

            "Oh well then." She went through the 411 of what he's been doing since they parted back before she came to Sunnydale. "…But hey a plus, he's not a vampire, I gotta get super bonus points for that?"

            "I supposed. But you know your military record." He joked.

            "Oh if your gonna criticize my life relationships…" then she though, "Do I have to bring up stupid things you've done. I would have criticized your relationships but they weren't that bad." She let them walk a little, "But since were talking about them, Quentin Travers daughter?" He didn't answer. "Oh and she's a slayer too. Isn't there a old watcher rule saying 'watcher and his slayer aren't allowed to date'."

            "Well no, actually one the books it's says that out of need to be near the Slayer a Watcher is allowed to marry his Slayer to keep her from taken out of his care or getting to much attention."

            "To much attention? And, well, eww!"

            "They were different times, it was inappropriate at some times for a man and women to be traveling together outside of wedlock, it caught to much attention. In most cases the relationships remained professional until the end of the Slayer's time." He said sounding like the walking library she knew and loved.

            "In most cases." She repeated, "I bet those 'other' cases make for some pretty saucy Watchers' Diaries."

            "I will change the subject now and remind you that Fiona is not her father, nor is Matt."

            "I know, I get that. It's just the name, it always makes me antsy." She confessed. "But everyone says she's okay and she seems to like Dawn alright…" She paused.

            "You think she's perfect don't you?" he asked reading her expression. She shrugged. "She's not, everyone has their problems." He assured her. They walked on and they talked more about what she missed and how Dawn was fairing and the girls she recruited. She was quiet curious on how Kristy was doing. 

            They were back to staff floor when they heard Dawn and Pike's laughter coming over from the couches. Buffy walked up to them with a smile on her face. "Well it seems the two of you are getting along."

            "Yep." Dawn smiled. 

"Yeah, she's not the brat you told me about." Pike joked. 

Buffy was going to defend herself to them but Dawn just laughed knowing it was a joke. "He told me about what happened when you road off with him after you killed Lothos. Oh and Buffy, I also heard about that sexy outfit you wore in Vegas.  Scandalous." Dawn told her to which Buffy glared at him. "He's a lot more interesting then Riley. Not too evil, good choice."

            "Well I'm glad you approve." 

"I also think he'd make a great bother-in-law." She said causally and Buffy was now glaring at her. Pike froze just after Dawn said but then burst out laughing again.

"Man the two of you are gitty today." She sat down next to Dawn. "What are you doing tonight?"

            "Done with homework, so I was just gonna go look at some of the field request and do some research stuff. Unless you have a better idea?"

            "I'm thinking field Watcher Training, more specifically taken a Slayer out to patrol." Buffy suggested.

            "Oh that would be so much fun!"

            "You could work on your fighting skills too, Dawn." Giles suggested to them.

            "Okay." Said Buffy and Dawn.

            "I'm gonna go change." Dawn said running off to her room, "can't fight in these shoes." She called back to them.

            "Is this a sister-bonding thing or can anyone tag along?" Pike asked as they stood.

            "Sister-bonding, sorry." She leaned in and gave him a hug and a quick kiss. She knew Giles was still standing behind them. 

            "Buffy, I'm ready." Dawn called to her from her room.

            "Okay, be right there." Called to her than turned back to Pike and whispered, "Be careful of  Giles, I think he's gonna give you the 'you hurt her, you're in lots and lots of pain' speech." And with that she was gone. Pike processed what she said and looked up at Giles. He read the look on the older man's face. He was gonna get the talk.

 *********

            A few hours later.  The front door smashed open and a furious Dawn marched through and ran up stairs.  Buffy came in after her and called, "Dawn!"

            Faith walked over to her from the sitting room as Buffy closed the door.  "What's with the Mini-B?" 

            "She is so immature sometimes!" Buffy started.  "It was a small thing, we were in a graveyard and a vampire attacked from behind her and I killed it.  For some reason she got pissed off at me."

            "I guess she feels that she doesn't need to be coddled anymore B.  She is seventeen, I mean she's probably not even a virgin anymore." Faith said.

            "Excuse me?  I do not coddle her," she glared at Faith. "And – how would you know?"

            "Hey, I'm just sayin', when I was her age-," 

            "You were already killing people?" Buffy raised her eyebrows and walked away.   Faith just watched after her co-slayer, hurt.

            Xander walked into the rec room to see Pike watching television, drinking a beer.  "You know, not a good idea to be drinking around the students.  But since Giles isn't around, let me in on one." He said smiling as he took the seat next to Pike on the couch.  

            "Like I would give any of these brats my beer," Pike laughed as he gave Xander a beer. 

            Xander saw the dog tags that Pike was wearing, "You know, I have some experience in the field too." He said as he took a sip.

            "Nice man," Pike began talking military talk.  Xander tried to go along with the conversation.   Pike asked him a question, and it wasn't a yes or no this time.  

            "Alright so, I haven't been in the field.  One Halloween I was possessed by a soldier, so I got some of the left over memories from it.  But most of its gone now." Xander said. 

            "It's cool man." Pike said.  

            "So did you play any football in High School?" Xander asked.

            "Nah, I hated sports, especially in school.  The jocks hated me, - so did the cheerleaders, except Buffy of course." 

            "Good, so we do have something in common, we were both losers in High School, and we didn't go to college, sweet!" he said.  

            "Hell ya," Pike chimed in, they toasted their beer bottles.  They continued talking man talk about women and who was hot on television.  Soon Willow came in and sat in the chair diagonally from Xander.  

            "Ooh, can I join?" Willow beamed.  

            Pike laughed, "Sure!" and handed her a beer. 

            "Just be careful. You and drinking not always a good combination."

"So you keep reminding me. But your here to watch me." She smiled and started to watch TV with them. "Say, I think Baywatch is on."   

            Pike and Xander both looked at each other and smiled in unison.

*********

            "Dawn!" Buffy yelled as she stood in the bathroom, outside of her door.  "Dawn, I'm sorry okay? I knew you could have taken that vampire out.  Its just from instinct is all."  

            No Answer.   Buffy gave up and sat on her bed and turned the television on.  There was a knock on the door as Pike came in.  

            "Hey little lady." He said closing the door.  He took off his tee shirt and pants, wearing only boxer briefs he slipped into bed next to her.  

            "You want to go to bed?"  Buffy asked, Pike could tell that she was upset.  He sat up and started to massage her neck and shoulders.

            "Not if you want me too." He said.  Buffy closed her eyes, she loved his massages.  "What's wrong?"

            "Its Dawn, she's acting like she's fifteen again.  She gets pissed off at me for everything."

            "Is there anything I can do to help?" Pike asked sweetly.  Buffy turned around and kissed him.

Pike slid down her spaghetti strap off her shoulder and kissed her neck as Buffy's hands wandered Pikes shoulders and back.  Buffy, taking control,  removed her top and pushed Pike back against the pillows.  Pike unclasped her bra and threw it to the side.  Pike started to take off his underwear when-

            The door opened and Dawn shrieked. "Oh my god! she covered her eyes and turned around. "I am so sorry!"

            "DAWN!" Buffy yelled as she covered herself with her tank top. Pike quickly pulled his briefs back up and pulled the covers over himself.  Buffy quickly put on her shirt and pulled Dawn into the bathroom and shut the door.  Pike gave a big sigh and fell backwards, his head hitting the backboard. 

            "I am so sorry! I had no idea! Its not like you left the lights off!" Dawn said pleading with her sister.  "Plus, I didn't see anything, just your back, I swear!"

            Buffy just glared at her sister, then slowly, a smile crept on her face, and the both laughed hysterically. 

            "I guess we are even now huh?" Dawn said trying to talk.  

            "I guess we are." Buffy said calming down.  Dawn smiled and gave Buffy a hug.  

            "Now you go back to my future brother in law and make _looooovvvvvvvveeeee__."_ Dawn said in a sexual voice.  Buffy shook her head and kissed Dawn goodnight.  As she turned to open the door to her room she turned around.

"By the way, are you a virgin?" Buffy asked.

            Dawn, shocked by her question didn't answer.  Dawn hit her playfully on the arm and turned her sister around and pushed Buffy back into her room.  The door closed behind her.  

            Pike was watching TV holding his head, still under the covers.  "You ok?" Buffy asked as she sat on the bed.

            "Yeah, made my head hurt more.  Man your sister, what a buzz kill."  He said turning off the TV. 

            "Tell me about it, I could never do anything with Ril-, other boyfriends, when she was in the same house as me." Buffy said.  She smiled.  

            "So what did you two talk about in there?"  Pike asked.         

            "Well," she said, she was on all fours climbing sensually up the bed and straddled Pike.  "She said that we should continue our – you know."

            "She did, did she?" Pike smiled.  He took her face in his hands and pulled her into a deep kiss.  

            "Wait, hold on." Buffy leaned over to the nightstand and turned off the light. There was a long silence and then "Do you think she's still a virgin?"

*********

            The next morning, Buffy went into the dinning room, which was empty by the time she got there. She had slept in with Pike, who was with Xander jogging.  Xander had lost a lot of weight since Buffy last saw him.  He had began to do morning jogs with Giles.  Buffy was happy that he was feeling better about himself.  Buffy made her way through the circular tables and pushed chairs in as she walked.  Felt like she was back in High School.

            She entered the kitchen where she saw Clem tasting some soup from a large pot.  "You'd better watch your skin there, don't want to get burned."

            Clem was startled and dropped his spoon in the pot.  "Darnit!  Oh Hey Buffy, you scared me half to death."  He was about to put his fleshy large hand in the pot.  

            "Wait," Buffy said, "Let me get that." She smiled and took the spoon out for him.  "You are really doing a great job here Clem." Buffy said wiping her hands on a napkin.  

            "Gee, Thanks Buffy.  Always good to hear a compliment from the head slayer. The girls are nice enough but they sorta get rude. They don't appreciating how much Andrew and I do for them."

            "Clem, that's just how teenage girls act sometimes. It's kind what I did to my mom."

            "So they kind of think of me like a parent?" He concluded happily. "I can live with that."

"Sure, Clem." Buffy smiled not about to break his mood. "Well I'm gonna go say hi to the girls. I'll see you at lunch." She waved goodbye to Clem and left the Kitchen.

            Buffy walked to the students dorm hall and went into the senior suite and knocked on Kristy's door.  Kristy opened the door, with curlers in her hair and a bathrobe. She was on late patrol last night and got an pass from her morning training class.

            "Buffy, hey."  Kristy said.  Followed by a few seconds of silence.  

            " . . . Can I come in?" Buffy asked.  Kristy seemed to snap out of her world.

            "Oh sure." Kristy let her inside.  Buffy walked in and sat in the girl's computer chair.  Her room was full of expensive clothing, bed sheets, candles.  A laptop computer, with AIM logged in.  A plasma flat screen TV on the wall. 

            "Wow you really came prepared." Buffy said looking around the room.  Kristy started to pull out the rollers.  

            "Yeah, well, my dad's rich.  He only wants the best for me."  Kristy said.  

            "I heard that you mostly stay in your room.  You don't even come down to eat." 

            Kristy glanced down at the floor.  "Why do you care?"  Buffy stood up.

            "You should really try to get to know some of these girls.  They might not be rich or have really nice clothes like you but they are good people."  Buffy knew what the girl was going through.  She probably didn't want to come to the school.  She had a life, a pretty good one, and she had lots of friends.  Just like she did.  

            "Thanks but no thanks, they don't like me anyway." Kristy brushed her hair in the mirror on her dresser. "Now if you don't mind, I need to get ready, I have class in 30 minutes. Willow gets really grouchy if were late.

            Buffy stood there just for a moment. She had wanted to tell her that she was not alone, that she used to be her, but what good would it do. She wanted to tell her that there was no reason for her and her fellow Slayers to get along, but then she always had trouble with it. Trouble with Kendra, Faith and some of the older Slayers.

            "Something else you wanted?" Kristy turned back to her, because Buffy hadn't moved.

            Buffy's mouth opened to speak but nothing came out. "No" she finally said and left the room. 

            She went down and out to the gym pavilion. It was connected to the main building but she was closer to the outside entrance then the walkway. She decided to drop in on a few of them. The training classes were in the morning and were spilt into three sections: weapons, hand to hand, and basic exercising. Anyone on patrol the night before would be excused and the teachers would rotate.  Today Robin was on weapons, Curtis was on hand to hand, and Faith was taking over the other. Buffy watched from the doors, everyone so wrapped up in class to notice her. She thought they all were doing a great job, well except for Faith who was letting her girls do what ever the hell they wanted.

            By the time she finished observing, first period had ended and the girl went off to other classrooms. Second period was mostly regular classes, she ran into Pike and he said he was going to go help Xander in the shop class. So she was once again alone. She did take a peak at Willows algebra class and Fiona's literature class, but it reminded her way to much of high school. She just wanted to hang out with someone but everybody had a job or a class. She realized she let it happen, being the slayer became her job. She didn't have anything else going for her. 

            She went around some more and caught Dawn struggling through her speech in Addison's class. She glance at her and then at Matt. She let her imagination run wild about him being Dawn's boyfriend and she left the room quickly. Then to Xander and Pike having fun with the girls in wood shop. Even Andrew had something to do, he was compiling a grocery and supply list. She finally decided the other place for her to go was the rec room with the big television. "Might as well check up with my soaps."

            She was surprised to see the big screen already on and "Cruel Intentions".  From the door she didn't see who was watching so walked in farther. She realized Faith was stretched across the couch. "Hey, B. Wanna watch with me?" Faith said looking at Buffy as she came in. Buffy nodded and took the chair. "Nothing like a movie about spoiled rich kids to pass the time."

            Buffy just remained there silent. 

            "It gets kind of boring when they have normal classes. Usually I sleep through them, wake up and go out later but they needed me to take the morning class. It's been that way since Kennedy left.

            "Oh, I saw your excellent teaching work." Buffy joked.

            "Hey, I'm no teacher, never even graduated from high school. I couldn't stand going to school with kids and they seem to think I can teach them. That's why I go away all the time."  Faith groaned.

            "Yeah tell me about it." Buffy sighed.

            "You know Robin thinks I should actually try to finish up my high school education here." Faith smirked, "I told him it wouldn't matter, "Faith" is dead, Willow set 'Nicole' up with a fake degree in 'recreation', he just said something about I'd knowing I graduated." Laugh,  "He's such a teacher sometimes."

            "Yeah, I guess ." Buffy was staring at the television not really watching. It took her a few minutes to realize Faith was watching her. "What?"

            "Things usually pick up around noon, and if not you can come with to my guitar lesson."

            Buffy laughed thinking she was joking, Faith's stoicism made her stop. "Your not joking are you?"

            "No. There is never anything to do around here to nightfall so I picked up a hobby." Faith said turning back to the screen. "The place is pretty happening I think you should come along."

            No one knew were Buffy and Faith had run off too. People had seen them earlier that day but then after lunch they just disappeared, no one was to worried but the longer they were out the more theories about where they had run off to.

            "They probably got a call about some demon activity and had to get out there quickly." Giles assured Dawn. They were all sitting up at the staff table at the beginning of dinner. Dawn's friends weren't around so she was sitting in Buffy's seat waiting for her. Fiona had taken Evan to the doctor that afternoon and had taken Matt along as well for a check up. 

            "I don't know, G-man, maybe they got into a fight and in the mist of it all found out they're deep seeded feelings for each other and ran off to get married." Xander joked, but only got glares. Sophie patted him on the arm much like the way Anya would, "Since when am I not allowed to make a joke?" 

            They started to eat dinner. Robin wasn't as concerned as Pike or Dawn because he was used to Faith disappearing. He knew they'd show up eventually. They were all relieved when they heard them coming into the dinning hall.

            They were together, and to everybody's shock they were laughing. Dawn went to her. "Where we're you?" Dawn asked Buffy, "And why are you carrying drumsticks?"

            Buffy twirled the drumsticks in her hand. "Um, we went out. Fiona knew." She down at her hand, "And these-" 

            "You had your guitar class today." Robin burst out. Faith nodded, "You told me last night."

            "Yes I did." Faith said taking her seat. Willow moved to the other side of the table giving Dawn her seat. "Buffy looked bored just hanging around so I took her along. Looks like she found some else to do with drumsticks other than slay a vampire. She fell in love with the drums."

            Willow, "Since when did you take up the guitar?"

            "Hey, music is my thang' red.  Since I know so much bout' it, figured I give it a shot at playin' it." Faith said, moving her hands as she talked.  Willow nodded her head and then everyone looked at Buffy. 

            "Um, like she said, I was bored." Buffy laughed.  "Pike, why don't you join our future band?  You could be the bassist and lead singer."

            Pike chuckled, "Yeah right, being backed up by two girls." He rolled his eyes.

            "Two girls that can kick your ass, hon'." Faith said.  They all laughed.  

Xander, a little confused about the two actually hanging out with each other spoke up.  "Too bad the name 'Slayer' was taken."

Faith and Buffy joined the table.

A couple days later.  Buffy decided to take a few swimming laps in the indoor pool.  She loved to swim, mostly to forget things, she could feel free.  She heard Willow yell to her.  Buffy took off her goggles and looked up at her friend.

            "Hey Buffy, you want to come with me and Xander to the mall?"

"Sure!" Buffy swam to the ladder and climbed out.  Willow handed her a towel to dry herself off.  She was wearing a two piece bikini.  Tomorrow was Buffy's birthday today.  She was upset that no one had mentioned anything to her.  But now she was heading to the mall with her best friends.  _Presents!_

Buffy, Xander, and Willow came back from there day at the mall.  It wasn't like Sunnydale, but it was close enough.  It was late, so they decided to call it a night.  Buffy carried her shopping bags into her bedroom.  Pike was sleeping, so she didn't turn on the light.  There was a small desk by the window, she put her bags on the top of it.  Buffy smiled as Pike started to snore.  She went into the bathroom .  

In just an hour it would be her birthday, and not one word was mentioned about it.  Buffy guessed it was ok, since her past parties went pretty badly.  But it was her birthday, she would be twenty three tomorrow.  Like Angel had said, she should be start thinking about family.  That was a scary thought.   Buffy got undressed and put on sweat pants and a large shirt.  As Buffy went into bed, Pike awoke suddenly.

"Buffy, hey." He said, his eyes full of sleep.  "Sorry you scared the shit out of me.  What's wrong?" he said seeing that she was upset.

"Oh, nothing." Buffy said as she snuggled next to him  Pike kissed her on the top of the head and they fell asleep.  

            Buffy awoke from a knock on the door. It took her a minute to snap out of her post-sleep confusion and wake up. Pike wasn't there and she looked at the clock, it wasn't even midnight yet. She ran to it as someone knocked again. She pulled open the door, Bridget was standing there. 

            "What's wrong?" Buffy asked immediately.

            "Oh, I need you're help with something." She said uncomfortably looking at her shoes. Buffy looked down at herself and realized she was barely dress. "You might want to change first."

**********

"I'm sorry to bother you but I really need your help." Bridget says as they made they're way down to the gym.

"Where is everybody else?" 

"They're out, it's a big patrol night. The girls are being evaluated next week in their training level. The extra training sessions were posted on the board."

"Ah. I guess I missed that." Buffy said continuing to feel bad about herself. "So what is it you need my help with?"

"I think someone's gotten into the gym and I rather not go in there alone."

"Oh," They were just outside the inner door to the gym pavilion. "Why do you think that?"

"The alarm was tripped. It could just be some of the local boys breaking in." Bridget said. Buffy nodded and went through the dark hallway with Bridget right beside her. "Main gym." Bridget whispered to her. 

They went forward to the gym door. Buffy could sense at least one person in the gym. She told Bridget to hang back as she went in first. She went in with confidence if this just was some local boys, she would scare the shit out of them. But for some reason this situation seemed very familiar.

She walked into the middle of the room and realized there was absolutely no light in the room. That wasn't right, she thought, she knew there were big windows on two sides of the room there should have been more light. She stopped trying to see and heard breathing, she concentrated on that and she became very alert. They're were more then just one or two people in the room, she took a deep breath and smiled. She felt other Slayers. 

"10," Screamed the others in pitched black room, she knew she heard Willows voice. "9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1!" The lights when on. "HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" Her friends shouted. 

The room was decorated for a party. A big 'Happy 23 Birthday!' sign over the windows that had the shades rolled down. The tables to the left were loaded with food and drinks, the table on the right was packed with presents. She started laughing and she looked around at her friends and well wishers. All the classic friends were there, including Xander and Giles' dates. Dawn was there with her friends. Evan had been in the mood to celebrate ever since she found out her CAT scan came back negative for tumors. They were the only student there. Faith and Robin of course were there. Curtis and Bridget were there but Addison was not, she had to watch the girls. Andrew and Clem were also around.

Pike went to her gave her a hug and a kiss. "Happy Birthday." 

After that it was a montage of hugs and happy birthday's. Willow turn up the music and the bar was declared open for business. "We're you surprised?" Willow asked.

"We'll I'm surprised you guys tried this again." She laughed, Pikes arm was around her shoulders as she talked to Willow and Xander. "Come on both of Buffy's surprised parties ended in not so happy endings."

"Yeah, well, what better than breaking tradition." Willow said.

"Besides even when we didn't throw you a surprise party your birthday's still left something to be desired." Xander added. 

"Thanks." Said Buffy sarcastically. 

The party went on, and so did the events. Presents were opened. Willow, Xander and Faith got together and got her a drum set. She had gotten really into the lessons, she found beating the hell out of the drums was the most fun she was having. Frank her teacher told her had great potential. Giles made some remark about her not being allowed to play them at night. Dawn got her a new cross, it was gothic looking, with ruby's on it. Buffy assured her it wasn't stolen, she had found it at a flee market. Sophie was a witness. The Watchers gave her a leather bound journal, that was from Addison as well, so that she could right down her experience for future ages. It was a beautiful journal is also came with a dagger or a leader opener she couldn't tell and had already had a few drinks. Giles told her he had no idea what get her but she had one coming so if she found something she wanted he'd get it for her. The biggest surprise was the gift from the Sisterhood. They gave her a three day spa vacation. She was upset that there was not a present from Pike, but he said she'd get it when they were alone.

As the evening went on the fun continued. There was dancing and drinking. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. The three minors even managed to sneak a few drinks. They stuck a couple of shots into their cokes. Giles saw them and brought it to Ona's attention. "We'll they're almost 18." She said in a slur. 

"Yes, but the drinking age is 21 in this country." Giles reminded her. "Buffy would be to happy."

"Oh, well we'll cut them off in a minute then." She said and gave him a kiss. "I mean what trouble are they gonna get into, we're all watching them." He gave her a look and she nodded. She took his arm, and they headed for the trio of minors. Sophie was talking to Andrew when Fiona tapped her on the arm and whispered in her ear. 

They did it smoothly and taking the drinks out of the younger kids hands. Then Giles whispered to Dawn, "No more, or I'll tell Buffy." Fiona and Matt's interaction went with more complaining and Evan just smirked at Sophie. 

But the party went on. It wasn't until 3 am that the party broke off and everyone scampered to there own rooms. Buffy was to tired to care that she had one more present coming to her and fell right to sleep. "Maybe this wouldn't be a bad Buffy birthday at all." She thought as she drifted off to sleep.

************

Buffy was walking but she wasn't alone. All of her Slayer Sisters were with her. They were marching down the hall, Buffy was in the lead. They march down the hall unending until Buffy realized she did not know where they going. She turned around and looked at her fellow slayers. Some she knew, some she didn't. Faith was next to her, as was Jenny and Fiona. Some of the students were in the rows behind them.

            "What's wrong, B?" Faith asked her.

            "I don't know the way." Buffy said.

            "Is there a way?" Jenny asked.

            Fiona looked around, "I think we keep going forward." She points to the endless hallway, which is now a door. The door had a picture of the scythe painted on it.

            "Or we go through the door." Says Faith.

            "Who's gonna open the door." Said one of the unknown Slayers.

            "Buffy's in charge," Said Vi.

Buffy turns around and she reaches for the knob. She doesn't open it. "Is it really mine to open?"

She looked over to Faith, "Yeah, B. Go on."

"But what's in there?" Buffy said cautiously.

"We'll never know if you don't open the door for us."

All eyes were on her as she turned the knob and the picture of the axe burned itself in the door and the door began to open on it's own. With a flash of light they were all in the new room. 

It was like looking in a mirror they could see themselves starting back themselves but the reflections they saw were worn and tearful.

"What happened?" They asked they're reflection.

"We have fallen asleep." The reflections replied. 

They all watched themselves. Buffy looked at herself, she could see the tears that were in her eyes. She reached forward tried to touch her mirror self, it couldn't be real, but she felt flesh. Buffy closed her eyes for a moment but when they opened again, she was the reflection. They all were, the people they were before was gone. They felt empty and wrong, disconnected. Some began to cry, others began to scream. 

***********

            Buffy startled awake. There was an alarm, high pitched and piercing. For a spilt second she reached blindly for her clock but realized that wasn't the right alarm. Pike was up too and looked at her. Buffy just ran out into the hall. It was the security alarm. There was an intruder in the school.

            All of the staff left they're rooms at the same time. Giles called out that it was coming from the student dorms and everyone ran off in that direction. 

            Buffy lead the way, Pike ran back into his room and grabbed an M-16 from his closet.  Giles looked at him concerned but let it pass.  Fiona, Sophie, Giles, and Xander were right behind Buffy as they jogged to the student hall.  Pike told everyone to stop.

            "Stop!"  he called out to everyone.  Buffy looked at Pike questionably.  "Can't you smell it? – Carbon Monoxide."

            "Oh my God," Buffy called to everyone.  "Only slayer's follow me!  Pike will lead teachers and watchers to block all entries, we are not letting anyone out of here alive!"

            Buffy told Faith to have her stand by her, she wanted the two of them to go in first.  "B? How are we going to get in there?  We defiantly have no gas masks."

            "I don't know." Buffy said calmly.  Sophie and Fiona were behind them.  The four girls crept behind the wall, the hall was foggy.  "I can't see a thing!"

            Sophie was behind Fiona.  Suddenly a hand covered her mouth from behind and the figure dressed in black stabbed a syringe in her neck.  Sophie was knocked out immediately.  The soldier dragged her away.  

            Buffy turned to Fiona.  "Ona, Go into my bedroom and -," Buffy stopped.    
            "What is it?" Fiona asked. 

            "Sophie's gone."

            A grenade was flung by there feet and more gas was let out.  "Go, go, go!" Buffy yelled as they ran down the hall.  They flew down the steps into the main hall and saw everyone, Willow, Robin, Giles, Pike, Xander and Curtis knocked out.             

            "This can't be happening." Fiona said in disbelief.  Buffy ran to her friends on the floor.  

            "No!" she yelled.  The front door opened and a woman in black camouflage appeared, with three other men.  They had guns.

            "Buffy, this way!" Faith said coughing from the gas.  She picked Buffy up and the three girls ran.  They entered the dinning hall.  Buffy tried to break open one of the large windows but it was no use.  The doors shut.

            "Oh no," Fiona gasped.  "We are trapped."

            Buffy saw gas coming up from the air vents.  "This is the end." Faith said. 

            "No! There has got to be another way!" Buffy yelled at Faith.  Fiona started to cry.   Buffy knew that even if they were to open the locked doors, it would be full of gas.  Buffy looked up at the ceiling.  There were skylights.  But there was no way up there.  She started to feel light headed.  The world spun around her.  She looked at Faith, she was down.  Fiona was down too.  Buffy fainted.

            Camouflaged soldiers ransacked the student hall.  They all had gas masks on and carried out the girls one by one.   All of them were gassed in there sleep.  One of the soldiers stood in the hall.  The gas was clearing, and she took off her mask.   
            Sam Finn called, "Lets get them out of here." She smiled.

End Chapter Ten

End Book One.


End file.
